


Deo Praeco

by likethechesspiece



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Pirate AU, and the rest of the gang - Freeform, mayor lena, pirate kara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-03-06 18:01:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 104,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13416621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likethechesspiece/pseuds/likethechesspiece
Summary: A story of romance, deception, piracy and summer nights. Lena is new to Port Nationale, and Kara is the pirate assassin sent to spy on her and keep her captain abridge of the Luthor's moves, but as her haunting blue eyes spy, they slowly begin to see a woman to fall in love with. And so begins our story of forbidden love in the chaotic and golden times in the Caribbean at the height of piracy in the world.





	1. CHAPTER ONE

**Author's Note:**

> My love for pirates and my love for Katie McGrath merged and this rather sizable thing came out fairly consistently for the last six months, and now I have finally reached the final proof-read stage, so I hope to upload a chapter ever week at the same time for you all to enjoy as I make my way through it. Unless I drastically change it, that should add up to nineteen weeks of uploads, including this one, so stay tuned!
> 
> Now, get reading and let me know what you think x

The ocean could either be one’s best friend, or one’s worst enemy; all depending on how it was treated. Respect it, honour it, enjoy its hidden mystery without pushing to understand it, and it would always be a loyal friend, never harming or cursing. However, if forced to yield to commands, or if it is treated as a possession, the ocean would return that power tenfold to hurt, stronger than could have ever been foreseen. Its abiding powers to cause unsurmountable damage upon a captain’s ship, yet kind and peaceful waves to bring a lost sailor back to his home had always been, and most likely always would be, part of Kara Danvers’ life.

Born in the summer of great storms, it was said that she carried lightning in her eyes and thunder in her bones; the waves of the tremulous ocean were her friends, and she respected them, which showed her father that she was a natural born sailor of the Zor-El bloodline from a very early age. These storms of the skies, and those that plagued a pirate’s soul proved to be unkind to the family, destroying their home and forcing them to seek refuge days sail away at another, more metropolitan, more stranger port.

Misfortune plagued the Zor-El’s past the destruction of their island home for a time after, with Kara’s father dying on the trek, cast overboard during a storm, and then her mother growing ill and weak from a broken heart. She fought for her daughter, but succumbed a year later. Before passing, Alura Zor-El befriended a family who had their own daughter, and so Kara became part of their family; the Danvers family.

Now, Kara had an older sister, who also wanted to sail, but they both learned quickly enough that it was a man’s world. They banded together and knew that they wouldn’t be stopped, fighting the boys at school and learning sword fighting in secret. Their parents only learnt of their fighting abilities when they would return home with cuts and bruises, and were more than happy to admit that they had done them to each other mid-sword fight because of course, none of the boys ever could.

As the girls grew and brought their wages in with gambling, of sorts, their reputations became well known among the townspeople. Fighting only partly drunk sailors for money became their hobby and life-source, but then one day they were both offered an opportunity that neither could turn down. Kara was still finishing what education was available at the small town, but as soon as she finished and reached the age of fifteen, she was welcome to accept the offer and follow in Alex’s footsteps.

That opportunity came from Captain J’onn J’onzz, one of the most powerful and capable captains of the seas at that time. He and his crew ran the ship called Deo, Latin for God, and that they believed they were. Never had a conflict beaten them, or damaged the ship beyond needing a new mast or two from cannon fire, and so their own reputation preceded them. On their usual travels out of Port Nationale, they would venture past smaller ports, smaller seaside towns in search of new crew members for ones lost to illness or other less desirable circumstances.

Thus, Captain J’onzz had been led by his ears and wit to find the two Danvers girls. Alex joined, and Kara would too, their first few payments allowing parents Eliza and Jeremiah to turn their tiny home into a small farm on the hills to support themselves and the town. The day that Kara finished her schooling and celebrated her fifteenth year was the day that Captain J’onzz officially extended his hand and helped her aboard Deo.

The rest was history, but a history worth telling, nonetheless.

Five years passed, and Alex had been promoted to first mate after the previous had left the crew to be married. J’onzz was a kind man, albeit slightly suspicious – always evident from the constant lilt in his brow – but allowed his crew to leave when they wanted for whatever reason, as long as they had served for no fewer than two years on Deo. Kara had yet to be promoted to anything official, but it was also her position on the crew to be the messenger; although it was more merciless than that. If there was a point to be made, or a statement to be shared, J’onzz would send Kara, his most talented swordsperson, ashore or over to the boarded ship and she would essentially spook the person into complying, or giving up. Sometimes Kara was given liberty as to exactly what punctuation to the message she would enact; sometimes a simple sword tip held to the gullet, other times the removal of a finger or two.

While she was feared, and rightfully so, Kara never solved a problem without her words first. Her mother had taught her that her words could influence even the most hardened of criminals, the most steadfast and stubborn of hearts. “Words could change the world,” she would say, and so Kara took that into account every time she was to be _messenger_. If, however, those words sadly failed, then her sword would do the talking for her in hopes that it might be more persuasive. She was still a good person, she believed, but could change her demeanour as quickly and ferociously as the ocean that carried her when she needed to. This is what made her, and carried Deo, to be the most feared and respected of pirates of Port Nationale.

When they were on the ocean, they ruled it, and rarely had any trouble from other ships; well... the ones that knew them anyway. Otherwise, there were, of course, cannons fired and ships boarded and looted, but hardly ever were crew of the other ship outwardly killed unless prompted. J’onzz ran the ship efficiently and had cannons and guns at the ready when approaching another ship, but no one was to fire until fired upon.

When they were back at port, the crew were welcomed customers at the local tavern – and the local brothel – and while they would enjoy solid ground under their feet, J’onzz would remain aboard Deo, sending his messenger to venture to the mayor’s office to discuss terms and town updates with Cat Grant. The enigmatic woman had been mayor for going on fifteen years, the power and centre of Port Nationale, and close personal ally of Deo and its captain. She had a flair and fascination for the pirate’s life, and would often tell Kara that she would have loved to be her own captain, but that her legs were unsteady under her when on the water.

Cat Grant was also very understanding and respectful of a good pirate, and wise pirate, one with a good crew that could wield swords like extensions of their limbs, and so for the last ten years that Deo had called Port Nationale home, there had been a fair and equal understanding between both leaders: Deo would protect Port Nationale from outside pirates and criminals in exchange for leniencies on any small crimes committed by their hands at port, and no taxing on their ship. This suited J’onzz and his crew very well, and so it had always been an effective deal.

Kara knew of the deal and always made sure to be especially kind to the mayor; buying her a drink when she stopped in at the tavern, or perhaps visiting the office with a trinket from their travels. In recent months, Cat had become a mentor to Kara in ways of learning decorum and matters of business that should be dealt with a quill and ink in lieu of a sword. The mayor’s kindness and beauty had also sparked a new attention in Kara, and the young blonde understood now that her affections lay with women. Of course, she had ventured to the brothel with crewmates and had a lovely young woman planted on her lap, bare-breasted and pressing occasional kisses to Kara’s equally soft lips, but now there was a burning desire that ran through her, further than those moments ever had.

Kara, though brave and confident, was shy in her own way, and would never make a move, let alone tell anyone of her attraction, and so it stayed as just that. Coy smiles were shared, but the mentorship was what stayed a constant, and Kara was happy for it just the same. She also knew that at the same time as she felt this on shore attraction, her sister was feeling off shore and on shore attraction alike. At the tavern, there was the gorgeous barmaid, Maggie, and on Deo there was the intelligent Vasquez, their coxswain.

Alex had known of her attraction to women for years now, practically as soon as Maggie had started at the tavern. She had ventured off the ship for a drink one evening, and had returned an hour later and was waking Kara up to tell her that she liked girls. Kara laughed and told her that she must be quite a woman, and when she met Maggie, she understood. Alex liked this girl, but often they were at sea for weeks at a time, and Alex began to grow lonely. She grew closer to the new coxswain in those moments, showing her around the ship and all the small nooks for hiding... or kissing; and so, when Alex was at sea, she and Vasquez would have their fun, and when she was on land, she would visit Maggie and have fun there as well. It was always a very casual and comfortable arrangement and once Alex was settled in her ways, she began nagging at Kara to find someone to have fun with.

Winn, the quartermaster would offer, giddily almost, but all knew that he was devoted to the cook at the tavern, James, even though he perhaps didn’t fully understand how much. Kara was fine just the same being by herself, and simply being a good sailor and friend. There was the mayor’s assistant, Lucy, but with Kara’s attraction to Cat, someone who worked for her seemed out of the question. She would just have to wait until the right time. She understood that timing was something powerful and determining in itself, and she didn’t want to push anything if it didn’t feel right.

So, she waited. She didn’t know what for, or who for, but she waited, sure that something or someone would show her that she was right one day.

~ ~ ~ ~

It was a day like any other in Port Nationale when it all changed, for better and worse. The time between those points were difficult and long, with lies and secrecy guiding them blindly to each other, but all that Kara learnt from it was that whatever was to happen, it was right. It was what was meant to happen, and it was her time.

Deo had returned to port the day before, not long before sunset, and so J’onzz granted them shore leave to venture to the tavern or brothel to comfort themselves, in whatever form that took. As Kara stepped into the tavern, Alex left her to grab them some drinks, and to of course greet Maggie. She sat down at a table by the fire, with Winn and a few other crew mates, and that is when she noticed it. She couldn’t exactly put it down to one thing, that could essentially be pointed out or described; it was simply a vibe. She felt it in the mood, in the air, in how the fire crackled next to her, that change was coming.

A storm was brewing – typical for this time of year – and the electricity in the air had the hairs on her arm standing uneasily. She rubbed them down as Alex brought over their drinks, babbling about how much she missed Maggie’s lips when they were away, but Kara was barely paying attention. As the sun fell behind the clouds, and street lamps were lit, people began to bustle outside even more than usual. She had no idea what was happening, and was slightly perturbed that no one else at the table seemed to notice, but then there she was.

Standing at the front door of the tavern, in a black dress detailed with emerald green threading, and probably a few actual emeralds, stood this woman that Kara had never laid eyes on before. She knew everyone there was to know in Port Nationale, and certainly a woman dressed as finely as that would be someone to know, and yet Kara’s mind drew a blank. Back thrilled the electricity in her body, and the storm outside could be heard to be approaching, a distant flash of lightning illuminating this woman from behind, shadowing her face even more.

As Kara’s attention was drawn in hypnotically, and her mouth went dry, the noise in her head both buzzing and dulling, she could feel it even more now; the vibe. It was pulsing and urgent, sending a shock of realisation through Kara’s brain, although she wasn’t at all sure as to what she was meant to be realising. “I think lil’ Danvers is in love!” one of the crew remarked, jostling Kara from her thoughts as Alex nudged at her arm with her glass of rum. She laughed it off, shaking her head at Alex’s concern to forget it, but her attention was still hooked firmly on the woman at the door; the woman now being edged in and guided to the bar by none other than Cat Grant.

The evening continued around Kara’s lost thoughts, and soon it was time to return to the ship. Of course, Alex was staying with Maggie, and so she planted a kiss to Kara’s cheek before heading behind the bar to distract the other woman. Winn bumped his shoulder into Kara’s as they exited, the blonde turning to take one last glance at the mysterious woman still being entertained by the mayor, and then they were out of sight and she turned back to Winn. “What?”

“I don’t know how I know, so don’t go interrogating me, but...” Kara squinted at the shorter man, unsure of where this was going. “I know that you have a thing for the mayor, but for some reason I couldn’t tell if you were jealous all evening or enthralled by that new lass at the bar?”

“Winn...”

“It’s none of my business, I know,” he said, stepping aside and holding his hands up in surrender, hoping that Kara wouldn’t be offended and draw her sword on him. Kara laughed it off anyway, not entirely sure which it was herself. They carefully made their way back to the ship, losing a few of the crew to the brothel as they passed, but soon Kara was stepping onto the deck of the ship for some refreshing night air.

She often retreated to the solace of night when her head was drowning in thoughts, and would sometimes tempt fate by sitting on the sides of the ship with her legs hanging over, feet bared. She’d be holding onto some of the rigging at all times, but there was something freeing and relaxing about feeling as if she could fall and fly for a few metres before hitting the water.

“Danvers?” a voice came as footsteps followed along the deck, coming closer. She spun around to face the captain, glad that tonight wasn’t one of the times that she was tempting fate, and greeted him with a smile. “What has you up here this late?”

“Thinking, sir,” she answered.

“About what, may I ask?”

“To be truthful, I was thinking about how to stop thinking so much.”

“Ironic,” J’onzz chuckled and joined her at the starboard side, looking out over the empty ocean past the ends of the bay. “Too much thinking is never good for a sailor; clouds our view of where we’re headed,” he said. “Do let me know if there’s anything that I can help you solve, Danvers.”

“Thank you, sir,” she said.

“Can’t have my best swordsman getting lost in their own head, now,” and with a gentle nod, he turned and headed back across the deck whence he came. Kara had experienced the great guidance of three men across her life, and was honoured to look at each as a father figure. Of course, her father died when she was very young, but she still remembered the encouraging things he said, and carried his book of the sea on her person at all times. It was a sailor’s guide to handling and manoeuvring the ocean, and he had riddled it with his own philosophies before handing it down to young Kara. So, now she had his words with her always, guiding her and keeping her strong.

Then there was Jeremiah who was less forceful as a mentor, but equally or more so supporting of Kara’s ventures and desires as a youngster. While Eliza would reprimand her and her sister for disobeying rules and getting themselves hurt, Jeremiah would be impressed at their young mind’s ingenuity to sidestep the situation and come out on top nonetheless. He knew that Kara and Alex alike would amount to great things, and was immensely proud when they were both offered positions as part of Deo’s crew.

Then there was Captain J’onzz himself, and while Kara looked up to him and saw him as great guidance as a sort of father as she was starting out on the ship, she now looked at him as what man could really be if they held kindness and respect for all as highly as they did power. J’onzz had all of them and in great amounts, and so she knew that being successful and good was possible as a sailor, or even a pirate.

With yet another kind reassurance from the captain, Kara felt silly in her worry over the vibe she had been feeling all evening, but then he turned back around before disappearing completely and gave her reason to know that the worry was warranted. “Oh, and the mayor visited this eve,” he began. “She says that she has some rather important news for us regarding a new heiress.”

Kara’s mind raced and landed back on the emerald stitching of the mysterious woman’s dress - of course, she was an heiress, with threads like that – but Kara was still confused as to what this woman was bringing with her to Port Nationale if it concerned Cat so much that she would classify it as ‘important’ information worthy of sharing with not just the captain, but the crew of Deo.

“She will be returning in the morning to make us privy to the news.” J’onzz nodded again, and left Kara alone, but not entirely now, as her crazed and drowning thoughts returned. This vibe that she felt not only made her worry, but was now making her feel quite suffocated. Yes, indeed; it was time.

~ ~ ~ ~

The sun’s light crept above the horizon, bringing crisp warmth to the air’s dull humidity from overnight after the storm had passed. Kara’s eyes had been open for hours now it seemed, her body unable to shake the vibe-like sense that ran through it and resulting in a less than restful sleep. She heard Winn’s mumbles and whimpers a few cots over, and saw Vasquez in the dull sunlit glow of the cabin as she began to stretch and wake. Kara’s arm remained bent and behind her head as the boat gently rocked with the morning current. Usually so soothing and comforting, it only felt in her as if a representation of the toing and froing of her thoughts that had plagued her sleepless night. And it was written on her face.

“You look rotten, Danvers,” Vasquez’s voice came from across the cabin.

“Thanks.”

“No blissful dreams of Cat for you then?”

“Does everyone know of my affections?” Kara grumbled. She loved Alex, but knew that she had loose lips when she’d had more than enough rum. No light-hearted secret was truly safe with her.

“Your sister is quite the ship gossip; you should know this by now,” Vasquez tried to calm.

“And yet I still trust her,” Kara muttered harshly, instantly regretting it, which showed on her face too.

“You know that she’d keep a big secret, but these little tid-bits keep the spirits afloat sometimes. Think nothing bad of it, please.”

“I know. Thank you,” and with that, Kara knew that she should go above deck for some fresh air and prepare the deck for visitors. She, nor the crew on duty at that time, knew if Cat would be staying for too long, but it always bode well to keep the ship in pique condition should the mayor be stopping by, even if it wasn’t for inspection. “I’m up. I think Winn drank more than was good for him last night, so let him lie in for a bit more.”

“Will do,” Vasquez answered, sitting up in her hammock too. She arrived on deck a few moments after the blonde, and already saw that her mood was changing. Fresh air and sunlight could cure a sailor’s soul in an instant. The deck was being cleaned, and Kara was on the port side fixing some rigging. Vasquez had torn off two bananas from the bunch as she passed the galley and tossed one to Kara as she approached. “Eat before you start the day; no good running on empty.”

Kara let her ropes go as she peeled the banana and looked out to shore and all the morning bustle that was the comforting soundtrack of her life in port. She loved the crashing of waves and billowing of wind in full sails, but there was something mundane and normal in a good way about the barks of dogs, and steps of people on gravel on their way to work; the idle chatter of men about the ventures of the evening before, and the laughs of children.

She munched away at the ripe banana, squinting her eyes more as the sun rose and glowed against her skin and through her hair. The sleeves of her blouse were rolled up, and the tan of her skin smiled around the bright pink of newly burnt scars. The early morning crisp of breeze from the ocean and heat from the sun across the horizon felt so revitalising across her body, even if it blinded her when piercing her eyes. She’d squint and bare it just to savour the sensation of warmth on her skin to remember when they were at sea and it had been raining for twenty-four hours straight and not an ounce of her body was dry.

Finishing her banana, and continuing to bask in the sun like a cat, Kara smiled when she heard Vasquez chuckling at her before taking her banana peel. The blonde rested a moment longer before turning her attention back to the rigging. She pulled loose a tattered thread of roping that would be of no benefit to the ship and tied it around her wrist. The parallel of loose roping made her notice the looseness of her hair and as she sat back to pull her hair out, she saw the captain emerge from his cabin across the upper deck. She nodded at him when he looked at her direction. “Captain.”

“Up early this morn, I see,” he welcomed her in return.

“Interested about the mayor’s visit, is all,” she stated. Interested was such an understatement though. “Figured I could get a start on the weaker rigging until she arrived.”

“Your work ethic is a fine quality, Danvers. Never lose that.” She nodded her thanks, and he moved off to survey the rest of the ship and greet what crew were awake as well. She watched as he walked across the deck and down stairs to lend a hand to a newer crew member and smiled. She had only been under one captain in her life, but she hoped they would all be this good.

Brushing her hair behind her head through her fingers, Kara ran her pinkie along the centre of her skull from ear to ear and pulled the top section up to tie, letting the bottom half fall around her shoulders as was her desired style. When it grew too ratty and needed a clean, she would tie it all up, but for the times when it was stringy but not disgusting, she liked to have some of it down. She tied the top section firmly into a bun, smoothing it all out when completed, then turned back to her rigging.

When that was done, and Winn was up, she notified J’onzz and went ashore to fetch Alex, pulling down her sleeves as she strode down the gangplank. Looking over her shoulder at the ship and the sun as she headed further into town, she surmised that it was nearing seven and was now time for Alex to be returning to the ship to await the mayor’s visit. Cat was a busy woman, and would usually prefer to be out and about running her errands and points of business before the day got too started. She knocked on the tavern door, and Maggie opened it apologising. “Sorry, sorry. We were having a bath. She’ll be down in a-“

“I’m here!” Alex bellowed, her boots thumping down the stairs. Kara smiled and bowed her head, stepping away from the door for Alex to continue bounding out. She hooked her thumbs into her belt and smiled up at Maggie, catching her reflection in the tavern window. She also saw, staring back at her, the mysterious woman, raven hair glowing in the morning sun and arms now bared to the warmth of Port Nationale.

She spun to see her, her stare boring into her even through a dusty pane of glass’s reflection, but she was gone. Kara stepped further to the middle of the street and looked up and down, then spotted her again, up towards the fruit marketeer. She sighed, glad that she hadn’t imagined the other woman’s presence, but still shaken to her holding stare. Or perhaps she imagined _that_...

“Kara, you okay?” Alex asked, lingering back at the door. She pressed a kiss to Maggie’s cheek and then the door was closing and they began their walk back to the ship.

“That woman from last night?” Kara asked more towards her feet than anyone. “Do you know who she is?”

“An heiress, I heard from Maggie.”

“I heard heiress too. Why is she in Port Nationale, do you think?”

“I’m not sure, little one, but I’m sure we’ll hear soon enough.”

“I’m sure...” Kara echoed, quickening her pace as they neared the ship. She bounded up the gangplank, Alex shoving her aside playfully as they reached the deck, then turning to head to the galley. “Be back soon,” Kara shouted after her as she looked out ashore again. “Mayor’s almost here.” Cat was walking leisurely towards the ship, in that way that commanded such power and attention.

Captain J’onzz had once told the crew that that was why he was sure she had won the mayoral position; because no matter what you felt towards her, Cat Grant’s presence and walk commanded attention – attention enough for her to get things done.

“Visitor!” Kara bellowed to the ship, and then from every door and trapdoor in the ship came people, stepping aside for the captain, but still taking notice as to whom the visitor was. “Morning, Mayor Grant.” Kara was answered with a sly wink as Cat stepped aboard the ship and made her way to the captain. They shook hands and J’onzz led her up to the bridge where she could address the entire crew and be seen.

“Good morning, brave crew of Deo,” Cat said, cheery and yet with the same deeper undertone that made it oddly alluring. “I come to you this morning, and not just your captain, because I have some news that will affect all of you in due time.” Kara stood with her arms folded, frowning into her squint as she looked up at the mayor she admired so much. “This news comes from a decision I had been making for the last few months, and now an opportunity has arisen which enables me to act on that decision.”

The crew was quiet, and in similar stances to Kara, unsure of what this decision could be, but Kara knew it had to do greatly with this new woman. Alex nudged into her, mouth dripping with orange juice before she wiped it away with her sleeve. “What I miss?”

“She’s made a decision.”

“Oooo,” Alex overemphasised sarcastically, warranting a heel from Kara coming down on her toes to shut her up. Alex mouthed ‘ow’ to Kara but the blonde’s attention was back on the mayor.

“Some of you may have seen a young woman about Port Nationale the last day or two. Her name is Lena Luthor, an heiress from New York who has eagerly insisted upon succeeding my mayorship and will be taking over as of the new week.” Kara was sure her jaw had hit the deck, and could see that J’onzz was experiencing a similar reaction as well. “She is a smart woman, with some great ideas, and I will of course be assisting her when needed, but she will be the new mayor of this beautiful port very soon.”

“What will you be doing instead, if you don’t mind me asking?” J’onzz asked at her side.

“I have taken up partnership of running the tavern along with Madam M’Gann, so you will still see me around; make no mistake about that.” She was all smiles and good wishes, but Kara could still sense that J’onzz’s mood was anything but pleased. Cat was exiting the ship soon enough, and after Kara had bid her farewell with a smile, she pushed through the crew with Alex tailing her to reach the captain, still standing at the upper deck.

They had barely reached him before he spoke. “I am unsure if our tax deals and mutual respect will last, so I think it best that we tread cautiously, First Mate Danvers.”

“Perhaps we should send our _messenger_ over to welcome her?” Alex suggested, nodding to Kara.

“Good idea, but _just_ a message, Kara. Invite her to the ship to meet the crew and myself. Let’s not start anything before we know anything.” Alex nodded in agreement and went off to start her day. “Head over at the beginning of the week; let her get acquainted with Port Nationale first.” He sounded welcoming in his words, but his tone told a different story, and Kara could hear the hesitation and wisdom in it.

“Luthor... have we heard of that name before?” she prodded.

“Lex Luthor was a businessman in New York, ran a small port upstate as well for a while, but ruined it all with corruption. He went mad and ran all of his work into the ground.”

“And you’re concerned that this Luthor might do the same.” All she received as confirmation was a groan, one that echoed the tone of his previous statements. She looked over his expression, then nodded as he headed back to his cabin; she remaining at the deck. Kara knew that no one should be judged by anything but their own actions, and yet could still understand just as much J’onzz’s worry. She would be courteous and welcoming when she visited Luthor, extending the hand of friendship in hopes that she wouldn’t later get burned, but from what her gut was saying in its trust in her captain, she also knew that it might very well get worse before it got better.

~ ~ ~ ~


	2. CHAPTER TWO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's read so far and liked this story! It means the world to me xo

In conversation, Kara had once likened the worry in her mind to the heartbreak that took her mother’s life. She didn’t fully understand her analogy until she thought of it over and over, essentially proving her theory with overthought; it lingered and took over. Much like that revisitation, when Alex left to join Deo and Kara was a lone child again, she worried; about anything and everything. Not having her sister’s brain to bounce thoughts and concerns off left them to dwell and fester in her own mind. When reunited with Alex years later, the worry eased, for she had this voice of reason back, but when it came to larger matters, matters of the heart and of her own mortality, Kara preferred to sometimes let those thoughts fester.

A thought could plague her mind so much that she oft passed through a day without recollection of anything that happened outside of her head, and those were the thoughts that were constant, or large staples of her existence, her life. Trying to become the best swordsman possible drove her to practise from dawn to dusk some days, until her hands blistered and her target tree truck was chipped and battered from the blunted edge of her sword. Her attraction to Cat had her sitting at that exact point on the rail of the ship, port side, so that she could see through the streets and beyond the washing to the slither of a corner of the mayoral office building that was visible. There she would sit most nights, muttering to herself and taking long mournful breaths of a move, a life, an opportunity that she would never take.

Over the last week since Cat’s announcement, Kara’s thoughts were again plagued with what she would say to the new mayor, to this new Luthor. She wanted to extend the hand of friendship, as J’onzz had said, but needed to in a way that made it clear that neither Deo or its captain would be pushovers. They were pirates, after all, and still demanded the respect and understanding previously granted them.

She had also let go approaching the mayor’s office until _she_ had settled in, again per request, but now that the crew were preparing to leave dock the next day, Kara grabbed her leather jacket – that she used more as a pillow in her hammock than as an item of clothing – and pulled it on, flicking her loose hair over the collar as she stepped down from deck, to gangplank, to shore. She looked back over her shoulder at Deo, as was habit for her, and nodded at J’onzz who was watching her. She turned back and walked, slightly perturbed at the odd flutter in her body, just under her ribs. Quelling it with her thoughts and determination, she strode on with her left hand coming to rest upon the handle and hilt of her sword by her hip. A stance of power and preparation, she nodded at the people of Port Nationale as she passed them on her way to see Lena Luthor.

The streets were drying with weeds growing at the bases of buildings, shade occasionally granted by the hanging of laundry from rooms above, and rarely by any clouds. Kara had grown to know these streets like the back of her scarred and tanned hand. A few of those scars were actually representative of a road map, etched into her skin after getting into a brawl with another pirate. “Meet at this corner at noon and we shall see who truly is the better fighter.” Of course, she went and stripped his shirt from his body with the tip of her sword, never again shedding her own blood at the hands of him. Had she brought her sword to the tavern that night, a follow up arrangement need not have been necessary. Still, it was fun, and she wore her scars like medals.

Passing through a narrow alley, caused so by the stacking of barrels with some item to sell set upon them, she dropped a gold coin into one woman’s hand in exchange for a small bouquet of flowers, not slowing her strides at all. They were not for Luthor – bribery on a first meeting never produced the desired result – but rather Lucy, an offer of continued friendship and allegiance in cases regarding the new mayor and Deo.

She stepped across the street, after a rabble of hungover sailors staggered by, and knocked on the front door of the mayor’s building, then brought that hand back to her sword and held her other, grasping the flowers, behind her back. It was a tall building, with delicate features, unfortunately worn down by occasional cannon fire or weathering, but still commanding nonetheless. It was perhaps, aside from the tavern, the oldest and most regal of structures in Port Nationale, and Kara always found herself casting her eyes upwards along its façade to admire.

Soon enough, the door swung open and a sweet young woman, with ink stains in her fingers and chapped lips stood smiling. “Good day, Kara,” Lucy said, her voice higher in pitch than usual. The pirate’s visit must be a welcome distraction, and surprise. Of course, it was. “Madam Luthor is not expecting you?” she stated, although lilted as a question for confirmation. Kara shook her head as she smiled, and stepped in at Lucy’s invitation.

“Captain J’onzz wished me to welcome the mayor to Port Nationale, and to invite her aboard Deo as a gesture of kindness,” Kara explained, hand still atop her sword. She knew the pose commanded attention, and she pulled it off with an air of charm and confidence that she also knew Lucy liked.

“A kind pirate,” Lucy muttered, eyes flashing down to the sword. “Who knew such existed.” Eyes back up.

“Indeed, we do exist,” Kara toyed. Yes, she had found her affections resting with Cat, but that did not mean that she wouldn’t practise, per se, her ability to flirt with other women. And even now as the usual banter flowed, Cat had oddly vanished from her brain, despite being in the place that she so often saw her, and that flutter remained, and grew.

“Deo is still leaving port tomorrow morn, correct?” Lucy asked, to which Kara nodded. “I shall tell Mayor Luthor so should she want to stop by and is unable to today.”

“Thank you,” Kara said, looking over to the closed door that lead to the mayor’s office. “Is the new mayor available now?”

“To talk?” Lucy asked, heading back to her desk where she began flicking through papers to find the mayor’s calendar. Kara raised her eyebrow in self-question as to what else might she have possibly meant by “available” then laughed it off as she stepped over to the desk as well. At the corner of Lucy’s desk sat a small vase of slowly dying flowers, and so Kara calmly removed those and replaced the vase with the fresher ones previously hidden from Lucy’s sight. “Oh, Kara, you are too sweet.” Kara smiled, smirked, a cocked grin. “She is available right now for you. I shall just let her know and she will come and get you,” Lucy said, gesturing to the few chairs by the window across the room for Kara to seat herself.

Kara did as she was asked, and pushed her sword aside from her hip so that she could sit comfortably. Hardly a slouch, but certainly not the presentation of what a ‘lady’ should, she let her knees spread slightly, and held her shoulders back. Kara Danvers had never been a girl to change herself or present herself purely for anyone else’s benefit, but Kara had also learnt that one could present themselves in such a way that it drew attracted attention their way, and thus she sat in such a manner.

She had seen many a pirate, or experienced sailor before her present themselves in an open and confident way that inevitably drew women to them, and Kara, always the fast learner, had adapted her own self to reap such benefits as well. Of course, unfortunately, such a presentation had never lured Cat over to her lap, for the other woman had more restrain than Kara had expected, and so she had to settle with a coy smile from across the bar, or a wink as the other woman passed. But because a move had never been made from either party, young Kara could still not be sure that it was anything beyond cheekiness between friends.

Kara frowned down upon herself as she sat in the office, Lucy having passed back from the mayor’s door to her desk, for Kara only just realised that Cat hadn’t entered her thoughts until that moment. She had walked the streets that usually carried her to Cat, to the building that Cat spent most of her time, and now into the office, in the same chair that she would often wait for Cat in, and still her mind had been elsewhere. Her mind had been preoccupied with that god-awful fluttering in her stomach, growing up her body. She expanded her chest and tensed her muscles to rid it of the sensation, and yet when she relaxed, it was still there.

It would have to wait until later to dwell over, Kara decided, hearing the door handle of the mayor’s office begin to turn. Or, be solved in an instant, she realised. The door opened, calmly and smoothly, so that Kara barely heard it and then those green eyes were piercing into her again, just like they had through the reflection. Kara felt her mouth gape a little, and the cool inside air numb against her warm mouth. She stood swiftly, praying that she wouldn’t break anything or come off as nervous – _a nervous pirate... really Kara_ – then she began her deliberate pace towards the door.

“Kara Danvers, I presume,” Luthor said, extending her hand. Kara felt a slight pang of guilt at her mind, and body apparently, being able to press past Cat so quickly, but she found the hum in her body grow with each step closer to the new mayor, and she liked it. She calmly slipped her own hand into the other woman’s and held firmly, shaking once, then twice, slowly and without taking her eyes away from those green ones. “From Deo.”

“Your allies in this port, I hope,” Kara said, her tone deep and promising. The other woman only smiled, a crooked grin much like the one Kara cast upon women herself, before turning back into her office. Kara felt challenged and stepped in after her, casting a quick glance over to Lucy at her desk, who was trying poorly to focus on her paperwork. Lucy would tuck that little moment away to talk about later, but she already categorised it as more intense than any interaction Kara ever had with Cat.

The office was much the same, just with this new mayor’s own belongings replacing Cat’s, but by no means any different in the hint of elegance it displayed. “I assume Ms Grant told you who I am,” she began as she sat herself down behind her desk, Cat’s old desk.

“Luthor. Your name precedes you,” Kara offered, taking her own seat.

“My brother.” Kara nodded. “Was a fool,” Luthor continued. “He ruined his own life, and incidentally mine, with his actions and carelessness. But I am not like him in any way more than name. I have moved here to make my own worth. I am more than a name, Miss Danvers.”

Those words rested in Kara’s ears, then travelled to her brain, and she could feel her frown from constant sunlight ease slightly. She loved her sister, and was aware of the great family of Zor-El’s accomplishments, but in no way did she want to be anything else but what she made herself to be. She could only let on as much as a nod in understanding, and so the other woman continued.

“I am fortunate enough to have the money to my name so that I may essentially purchase the mayorship of this port, but please do not think that I do not know what I am doing.” Kara leaned back and regarded the woman as she spoke, how her eyes flicked from page directly into her own eyes, and how her posture as well betrayed what was expected of a ‘lady.’ She was reclined in her chair, hands folded comfortably across her corseted abdomen as her elbows rested on the armrests.

“The Luthor branding,” she continued, “was only saved in no small thanks to my ability to do the saving. I am capable of bringing the dead back to life and keeping them that way.”

“You sound more than capable, Ms Luthor, so please do not doubt my faith in you.” _Faith, Kara!?_ “I only come here on behalf of my captain to welcome you and invite you to survey our ship. We are honoured to call Port Nationale our home, and would very much like to continue our mutual respect and allegiance with the mayor’s office.”

“You speak very well, Miss Danvers.”

“I know how to word myself so that I get what I want,” Kara shot back calmly. It was true, but she also knew that she was perhaps pushing it for a first encounter. She needed to ease the conversation back to something friendly. “And do call me Kara; I have a sister on the ship and often one gets two Danvers from the request of one.”

“Kara, then.” A pause, testing the air, the atmosphere. This was still under the guise of a professional conversation, but both knew it was growing further and further from that, if it was that at all to begin with. “And you may call me Lena.”

“When the time is right, of course,” Kara noted, to which Lena smiled and nodded, presumably thinking that Kara meant only when they were alone or in less formal environments, yet that is not quite what Kara meant by the time being _right_.

“Now, I must regrettably cut this conversation short; I am to officially greet the heads of business in Port Nationale for lunch at the tavern shortly,” Lena said as she stood. “I hope this isn’t the last time we speak.”

“Neither do I,” Kara answered standing as well, a glint of hope in her eyes. She ducked her head and smiled in lieu of another not-so-innocent handshake and turned to the door. As she reached out and rested her hand on the handle, left hand again posed on her sword, she dared a glance back over to the other woman, in hopes that she had perhaps been watching her leave, but alas, she had retaken her seat and was back to writing. Kara smiled shyly in defeat, then exited and wished Lucy a good day on her way to complete more shore side errands.

Lena had indeed returned to her writing, for personal reasons instead of work. Among the throws of new and important people of the port that she was meeting and was yet to meet, Lena was sure that she would forget names, and had begun writing them down with detailed notations as to what they did in town and a brief description. So, naturally, she had written the young pirate’s name down, but had oddly left it at that, not at all needing a description to help her remember that name.

~ ~ ~ ~

Deo would sail, or prepare to sail at dawn the next day, and so all final arrangements for food and supplies needed to be checked off before nightfall. So, while Kara was out visiting the mayor, J’onzz had requested that she also do a few last-minute errands. This took her to the blacksmith to acquire the captain’s freshly sharpened and tightened sword and then off to the tavern for a few extra bottles of the finest rum.

The blacksmith’s son was unfortunately behind schedule due to his father being ill, but Kara didn’t mind. She was often fascinated with the finer works and trades of the port that afforded her benefits, such as a pristinely sharp sword, and would therefore take the opportunities in stride to watch and learn. She sat on a bale of hay for the burrow to munch on after working, and watched the young man hunch over J’onzz’s sword as he sharpened it. Using stray strands of hay to grace along the blade until it split finely, he worked quietly and with complete and unwavering focus until he was content with the sword’s finish.

“Would you do the honour?” he asked Kara, offering her the handle of the sword, then nodding to a pillar that held the roof up, yet had many a notch in it, when she took it. She felt the balance in her hand first, flexing her fingers around the grip slowly, and then eyed down the post. A slow breath in and then a smooth swing around her shoulder of the blade and _whack_ into the wood. The blade went in half its breadth, and she grinned, also content with its finish. She pulled it out with a tug, and smiled to the man grinning at her side.

She reached into her pocket for the agreed coinage for the task, and dropped them into his hand, with an extra silver piece. “For letting me watch you work,” she winked, and then slid the blade back into its sheath and tied it to her right hip.

She very much enjoyed being trusted with retrieving the captain’s sword, for at least the next few hundred paces, she was granted the awesome privilege of having two swords strapped to her hips. Thus, she rested her hands firmly on their handles as she walked for a while, then shifted to hook her thumbs into her belt in between the two swaying sword hilts.

As it was nearing noon, and the day was heating up, the tavern was gathering people like flies, needing a refreshing glass of rum or ale. The over flow of portly men resulted in the front doors being wedged open, and so she walked right down the middle and under the great arch on her way to the bar. A few sailors of acquaintance called out to her and she nodded her head in their direction, but soon their attention shifted and howling whistles echoed through the tavern.

Kara recognised the kind as such, and knew that a fair lady must’ve stepped in, now being pestered by swilled men instead of the warm welcome she probably had hoped for. Kara slipped her hands back up to the handles of the swords at her hips and turned to the entrance, intent on defending this young woman’s honour, but was pleasantly reminded that it was Lena who was entering. She had said she was meeting for lunch here, after all.

“Mayor Luthor,” Kara projected, to Lena of course, but also as an introduction to some of the men who obviously didn’t know the power that this particular woman held. Immediately, the whistles stopped and embarrassed men turned back to the emptying glasses, avoiding eye contact from both women. Kara smiled at her own indirect effect, and then over at Lena who was walking her way.

“Two swords, Miss Danvers?” Lena cooed, impressed it seemed, as she walked towards Kara.

“The captain’s,” Kara explained pulling up J’onzz’s sword at her right.

“And day-drinking,” less impressed this time, yet jokingly said.

“A good ship runs on its sailors, and good sailors run on rum,” Kara said, nodding to Maggie across at the bar. The barmaid slipped away to the back for the decided number of extra bottles needed for Deo’s voyage. “We’re leaving port tomorrow.”

“Yes, Miss Lane said so.” Of course, Kara was imagining it, but she felt as if Lena had been sad in that remark, and her dropped gaze to her feet certainly didn’t help her case. But then they were stepping over towards the bar, and so Kara assumed that Lena had just been preparing her footing, and wasn’t downhearted. “Good day, Ms Grant,” Lena next spoke, and Kara felt a shock of nerve run through her.

She had yet to be stood next to both women who seemingly obtained her affections, or at least her attention, and it felt odd yet exciting, so she grinned at the thought. Cat looked over at her and smiled, that same coy smile that they shared; that others may interpret as a hidden feeling. “The men are already here, Miss Luthor,” Cat said, eyes still lingering on Kara’s, and this, Lena did not miss. “If you’ll follow Maggie here, she will lead you to your table, and I will join you shortly,” Cat said, eyes back on Lena now.

Maggie placed the bottles for Kara down on the counter with a smile and a wink, which the blonde knew to pass on to Alex, and then she gestured for Lena to follow her. “Safe sailing,” Lena said to Kara with a gentle smile before stepping away, and that oddness returned as well with the dwelling thoughts. _Was Lena upset that she and Cat shared a moment... a something?_

“Kara...” Cat’s voice broke through, and so she leaned over the counter as the other woman’s hushed tone requested. “I have heard a thing or two from the gentlemen,” she nodded over at the table that Lena was being welcomed at, “as well as from our new mayor herself that change may be in the wind.”

“What kind of change?” Kara asked, concern lacing both of their voices now.

“That Deo’s stake and partnership in the running of this port, as well as its privileges are soon to be revoked.” Cat’s eyes were hooded and shifty, these words obviously not meant to be heard by Kara at all, and that made the blonde feel uneasy.

“As in, we’ll be nothing more than _just_ another docking ship?”

“Yes.”

“That’ll have to pay taxes?”

“And other things.”

“What do you mean?” Kara asked, trying with all her might to keep her voice low.

“While I appreciated and rewarded Deo’s protection of the bay greatly, I feel as if Miss Luthor may see it as unnecessary, and take the safety of this port for granted.”

“J’onzz won’t like this.”

“So,” Cat began, a hand coming to rest on Kara’s. “Might I suggest not telling him just yet. He will obviously need to know, but perhaps it would be best for these words to be passed on when he is not as easily able to come ashore and have words with our new mayor.”

“I think you’re right,” Kara thought ahead, knowing that despite J’onzz’s kindness, if pushed, he could have quite a temper. “Thank you, Cat.” Kara collected the bottles in her arms and prepared to leave.

“Anytime, my dear,” Cat’s words reached her, and she could feel her hands flinch into grasping the bottles a little tighter lest she drop them. She turned with a smile to Cat, that she shot over to Lena too in case she was watching, but thankfully she wasn’t, and off she went. There was perhaps an extra speed in her step, but she justified that to the bottles in her arms that she needed to offset at the ship.

She knew that J’onzz needed to hear of this development, but also agreed that it should be left until they were in the middle of the sea – past the point of no return, quite literally – to tell him.

~ ~ ~ ~

One could walk through each of Port Nationale’s streets, circling back to the point in which one started in no more than an hour. A leisurely pace undertaken, it was a smaller and easily accessible seaside town, even a drunken stumble could carry those drunk legs about the town many a time in one day. Kara, with her worrisome and arm-filled pace, would be back to the ship in only a few short minutes, and yet those minutes, drowned in thought, would seem to last much longer.

She had spent so many sleepless nights rocking in her hammock trying to make sense of her feelings for Cat, and had settled upon the realisation that she was attracted to her; plain and simple. But then this new woman of mystery and confidence waltzed into the little port she called home and those feelings were mixed again. Or course, it had only been less than a week, and only one conversation had been shared between her and Lena, but yet she felt that her attraction was stronger in that time for the brunette than they ever had been in those long months with Cat.

_Was Cat simply a frivolous crush? Or is this feeling for Lena not entirely innocent in itself?_ She knew without a doubt that her initial attention drawn towards Lena was rooted in the darkness she seemed to cloak herself in, the secrecy, all offset and contrasted by the crystalline of her emerald eyes, and the soft paleness of her skin. Her feelings for Cat were warm and comfortable, a desire developing from mutual respect and kindness, and while she was sure of her respect for Lena and hoped for the same in return, there was something more fascination-filled about her feelings regarding the Luthor.

Shaking her head as she walked, she knew that there were most definitely more pressing items that should be taking the fore of her mind, and while still involving Lena, they were hardly positive. If what Cat had relayed was true, the future of Deo could very well be put under strain. J’onzz had secured a mutually beneficial deal between his ship and its services to the port, and the mayor’s office many a year before Kara joined his crew. It had been a new development when Alex had joined, and her older sister told Kara as much in letters, and as far as their captain let on, it had always been a decision gladly made; it held up to its promise on both sides and made for a strong partnership.

Kara knew that it showed on her face as she approached the ship, and she tried to void it, replacing it with the joy of bringing more alcohol aboard. Alas, her captain’s keen eyesight and uncanny ability to seemingly read thoughts and expressions faulted her plan of keeping her findings quiet for too long.

“A ghost in the tavern, Danvers?” J’onzz’s voice came towards her, breaking through the fog of her mind as he helped unload her arms.

“Nothing too dramatic,” she lied.

“Your face betrays you, Kara.” Both handed over the rum to flocking sailors, and soon it was just the two of them at the rail, the only soundtrack to their silence the squawking seagulls overhead in the masts and rabbling sailors joking to get into the rum.

Kara nervously ran her mostly clean teeth against each other as she thought, more of her wording rather than if she would divulge or not. She could see that J’onzz knew she was thinking and appreciated his patience regarding her unsureness. Ultimately, she knew that the subject should be broached nonetheless, and came out with it. “If there was something I heard, but knew that telling you would possibly delay sail, would you suggest I keep it to myself until we are at least, say... half a day out to sea; or would you prefer to know now?”

He regarded her similarly as before, but now with this new slither of worrisome information running through his mind, and his eyes squinted as he processed. J’onn J’onzz was a wise man, and a wise man is never alone in their life trials. He had his trusted crew at his side, and those among them who were more like family to him knew well enough when to take the brunt of something to save him the struggle. It was the duty of a captain to act upon a situation once they heard of it, and so J’onzz also knew the open loophole that presented in a sailor keeping the information private until absolutely necessary to afford more time, or buffer.

“Tell me at nightfall tomorrow, yes?” J’onzz presented.

Kara nodded and felt an instant weight get lifted from her shoulders; at least stored aside for a time so that she could move back to her own distracting topics of thought. “Nightfall tomorrow.”

“Bring a bottle of rum,” J’onzz said as he nodded and turned away, possibly already foreseeing that this news might be a veritable sword being ripped out between muscle and skin.

Kara watched as he passed his crew, hands clasped calmly behind his back, not at all letting on to any fear or hesitation he may be feeling, and she admired him. She admired him in the way he was brave and unwavering, holding steadfast to his thoughts and decisions, yet also housing the compassion to never unnecessarily trouble his crew.

She turned on her toes, hearing the distant chuckles of Alex and Vasquez, and as she cantered down the short flight of stairs to the cargo hold, she heard Alex’s growing nearer. Almost running into each other, Alex stopped her laughs to exclaim at Kara’s sudden appearance, before continuing her laugh and side-stepping her sister to head above deck. “Wink,” Kara said as the other woman passed, to which Alex smiled and winked back in thanks, knowing precisely that said wink was from Maggie.

“Hey, lil’ Danvers,” Vasquez greeted, list in hand. “I’m almost done here, then shore for lunch?”

“Sure,” Kara said, although immediately hoping that they wouldn’t be returning to the tavern. She now felt conflicted within herself, as if each organ of her body held a different emotion and they were all fighting around each other to claim their space. She let a heavy breath rumble out between her lips as she pulled herself up onto a barrel to sit. Vasquez noticed.

“Plagued by those pesky thoughts again?” Kara let on just a tug at her lips, a tight smile in answer. She and Vasquez had spent their times on watch chatting on more than one long occasion, and so she felt as if, especially regarding the more personal dilemmas, the other woman could be able to offer sound advice.

“The new mayor.”

“Is she trouble?”

“Not yet, I don’t think, but that’s not it.”

“What, pray tell, has our dearest little fighter so emotionally perplexed?” Vasquez asked with a kind hand to Kara’s shoulder, knowing precisely from the expulsion of air that this was a matter that was suffocating the heart. “I am yet to see her; is she more than Cat?”

“More?”

“More,” the other woman repeated, nodding and making eye contact with Kara’s chest.

“Oh, it’s not always about breasts, Vasquez. Don’t be such a typical pirate.” They shared a laugh, but quietly in the back of Kara’s mind, she took note of her first encounter with Lena, and how exquisitely her bodice was framed with that delicate stitching; obviously aided greatly by a finely made corset.

“But they are nice,” Vasquez pointed out. More laughter, and then Kara felt her cheeks flush. “Shall we move on, lest you combust, dear child,” she suggested, only slightly enjoying Kara’s display that was so very different from the calm exterior she usually presented as a pirate. “Get to know her.”

“Do you think?”

“Well, we do have shared partnership, yes?”

“Yes...” Kara tapered off, mind wandering to nightfall tomorrow, but Vasquez dragged her back.

“Either way, she is new to Port Nationale, perhaps to this part of the world, and I doubt that we pirates really get a good rep, so...”

“So...?” Kara inquired, not entirely sure as to where Vasquez’s train of thought was taking them.

“Prove her wrong. Prove to her that we can be nice.”

“I’m not about to prove myself to anyone, Vasquez,” Kara rebutted, jumping down from the barrel.

“Fine by me,” the other woman folded. “Remain plagued by your thoughts.” She turned from her last sack to check, and passed Kara closely to whisper. “And your _heart’s_ desires.”

The push and toying with of her emotions reminded her to keep her mouth a little more closed in future when it came to sharing her feelings with Vasquez, but she was glad for the short chat just the same. She would befriend Lena as best she could, hoping that this news that she was to share with her captain didn’t prevent interaction of any kind. From even her brief conversation with the new mayor that morning, she could sense a likeness between them, and hoped that the sense she gathered of the other woman’s power was something that she would only be on the good side of.

She turned to follow Vasquez up the stairs, and when reaching nearer the top, approaching the deck, the midday sunlight streamed down softly upon her, like a prediction of good; like a sign that this was right.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment or ask me questions if you have any! On here or over on tumblr at sapphos-throne xo


	3. CHAPTER THREE

Night had come, cool and wistful, and silence was deafening. The darkened skies out the porthole that stood across from her only offered stillness, and few stars. Kara tried not to look at that patch of nothingness sky as a sign, but not even the palm fronds dancing together on shore could be heard that night. It had to be a sign, and even if it weren’t, she had experienced enough of life and the sea to know that something was amiss. Of course, her rampant brain spurring a new thought every second wasn’t going to allow her to sleep well at all; she wondered when the day, or rather the night, would come where she could feel well rested for a change.

She took a deep breath as she tried to ease her mind, as she tried to focus in on one thought that would essentially bore her to sleep, but it did not seem as if it would happen. Her eyes closed, and she let her mind wander about its various thoughts for what seemed hours until it landed on a scenario, a scene of a woman, and Kara’s body was tranced into a half sleep state. Slowly her body relaxed, her mind’s eye following the woman walk through the streets of a familiar and home feeling place.

Kara’s eyebrows twitched, furrowed in the slightest as she could feel the kind pull of the other woman, and yet was unable to place her identity. She was tall, like Kara and yet with a solidness to her stance and walk; capable and strong, able to lead great armies as she was leading Kara now: calmly and with an even flow of trust. Dark hair, that reminded her of safety, and a gentle voice that Kara could only hear as a drowned-out hum, soothing her deeper.

Was this a memory, Kara wondered, but not intensely enough to really be thinking. Soon, the woman led her into a house, regal in its design, yet humble in its layout and Kara felt a warm glow emit from it that only said it was home. The woman turned from the room to walk through a doorway, and Kara felt hesitant, for she could not place this new path in a feeling of comfortability, nor any other emotion. She still felt a hum within her, nonetheless, and trusted it as she blindly trusted this woman, this figure.

Stairs led them into shadows, a flickering candle at the top the only guidance of where Kara was being taken to. She followed the woman, step for step, and when the candle shone brighter, another room was illuminated. Kara looked around and saw a simple wooden bed frame holding a cloudy mattress, covers pulled back messily, and the window on the far side of the room letting the moon and star light in. A simple white curtain danced in the breeze, and despite the comfort this room seemed to offer, Kara in her core felt not the least bit tired. She looked to the woman as she made her way around the room, and only then did Kara get a glimpse of her face.

The woman gazed over her shoulder, her profile barely aglow from the candle, and then Kara was stepping nearer to her. She rounded the bed and stood beside the woman, still not able to gather a sense of who she was, and then she was being sat down. The woman’s hands on her shoulders guiding her down and Kara was no longer looking at her face. The long dark curls of her hair were obstructing and distracting, and Kara found her attention wrapped up in them as she felt the softness of the mattress give underneath her, swallowing her.

She could feel soft fingertips at her temples, her cheeks, and jawline, tracing her own face and committing it to the memory of the woman, and then she was leaning down to her. There was no light cast upon her face at all and Kara could feel herself give into the moment in lieu of trying to uncover who this woman was. Her hair tickled Kara’s nose and her fingertips still cradled the blonde’s chin as she leant down, and then Kara felt it: a gentle kiss to her forehead. Home.

Her eyes snapped open, and she latched her hands onto the edges of her hammock in her waking startle, trying not to tip herself out. She breathed out heavily, offended, and looked around the cabin. All were asleep, and she felt offended again. Carefully bringing her legs to the side, she tipped herself out and brought her feet down gently to the floor. The boards creaked a little underneath her as she bent to pick up her boots, and continued to as she stepped towards the doorway and took herself upstairs. The deck was warm, the air, and she pulled her boots on and went in search of whoever was on watch.

Eve, a new and young girl with ratty blonde curls, was walking the starboard side and grinned widely as she saw Kara’s figure approach. “Eve,” Kara greeted, toying at her sleeves to roll them up more before leaning over the rail.

“Can’t sleep?” the other woman said.

“Not of late, no,” Kara frowned, slumping down onto the hardwood rail even more.

“I’m the same.”

“So...” Kara began, turning her head to look at the other woman, wide eyed and definitely not tired, but Kara would still ask. “You’re not feeling the need for sleep and would appreciate someone relieving you?” Eve smiled, glad for the offer, but not needing it.

“Sorry, no.” Kara slumped down again, a long breath of air rumbling out between her exhausted, yet not at all tired, lips. She wished for sleep, for that comfort of home... home...

“I might just have a short walk ashore to wear me out,” Kara said, not sure as to why she felt that she needed to, but her legs were already taking her there, and so she let them. She left the rail, and Eve returned to her pacing, eagerly looking out over the waves, and up at the masts for any signs of danger, but just as keen to be realising her presence on Deo.

The gangplank always rattled as Kara stepped down it, and the sound amplified in the stillness of night, but thankfully began to wake no one. The sand was much softer and quieter under her, and so she could resume her usual swaggered gate as she let the moonlight light her way into town. She was unsure of the time, but felt that it was past midnight as her approach towards the tavern granted barely any rebellious noise from inside. There were a few known troublemakers still present, and more intent on soothing herself into a state of tiredness, she decided to keep walking. Any interaction with those men would surely lead to an argument or at least a rise in her blood pressure, and so it was not worth it for this eve.

A quick look in the window, nonetheless, as she bypassed the closed doors, allowed her to see Maggie at the bar and Cat at her side, learning the tricks and the trades of pouring a good ale. Kara lingered only long enough to see her warm breath cloud up the glass, and erasing her view of the blonde inside, and so she moved off.

It was night, but yet she could feel the humid warmth usually baked in the sun’s harshness on her skin. It was thick and heavy, clogging her pours with sweat and she longed for a bath. Beginning to kick her feet through the sand pathways that lead to gravel and some cobblestones, she counted in her mind how many days had passed since her last bathe. Of course, she regularly jumped in the ocean or poured a bucket of seawater over her tired body when on Deo and they were at sea for weeks, but a soak in still clean water with a rag to scrub at herself with was something that a pirate was only granted every now and then, could they afford it.

Few places had a bath; most homes of wealth owned one, and the brothel had one for customers use only, and so Kara was reminded that her last bath was preceded by a night spent there, with the usual sweet girl whom she would visit. Talking rarely happened, and it was a quiet encounter; Kara had never known or understood why people need be loud during sex, but then of course, she was the kind of person to keep her mouth shut no matter what the occasion.

She stuck her hand in her pocket and felt the battered edges of coin, enough to afford a bath and a girl at the brothel, but she rather didn’t feel up to more than just a soak. She figured that perhaps a glass of rum could take her mind away from desperately wanting to bathe, and so, without quickening her pace very much, Kara carried herself around the streets again until she found herself outside of the tavern; the closed tavern.

The lights were off and there was no movement inside, so again with the parting of her warm breath fogging the glass, Kara stepped away and continued her leisurely walk about the port aimlessly. There had been a few nights when Kara had first joined Deo, and her stomach hadn’t adapted to the constant swaying of the sea, where she had taken herself for a short walk about port to ease it and draw her ever closer to sleep.

Now, her stomach had hardened, and she felt that she could sleep anywhere, but then again, that was her issue, and she couldn’t sleep. Not even when her mind took her to a peaceful place of serenity and warmth would her body stay asleep for very long. Kara grumbled to herself quietly, moody at herself for not allowing her to rest. Her body would not rest, and her mind would not rest. She did not feel stressed in any large way by her thoughts, and yet they were still weighted enough to plague her and keep her tossing and turning.

The warm night had her feeling restless and uncomfortable now too, and she hated it even more. Kara could just not sleep, and she was sure that it would drive her mad. A spiteful kick at the ground sent sand flying about and a few pebbles bouncing loudly across to hit the wall of some home. Her hand still sat in her pocket, toying the coins around her fingertips, and she pulled one out to flip in the air. She caught it and flipped it again, but soon grew distracted from even that mundane game, so she put it away.

A door ahead of her opened and she prepared to apologise for causing any disturbance, but then she looked up. The façade of the mayor’s building sat in front of her, and at the doorway stood Lena. She stepped out into the moonlight, and Kara could see the glisten of her eyes pulling her nearer. She obliged and began to walk over. With each step, she began to see more and more of Lena shroud in moonlight, and not much else. A light and simple white robe hung off her, and she held it closed around her waist as she gently leaned against the door frame. Her hair hung loosely, and heavily around her shoulder, and with another step, Kara saw that it was wet.

“Madam Mayor,” Kara greeted, stopping at the step that lead to the doorway. She stepped one foot up casually and ran her hand out along her own thigh to rest at her knee.

“What has you out and about at this hour, Miss Danvers?”

“Sleep is evading me.”

“I’m quite the same, oddly enough. After such a boring and tiresome meeting this afternoon, I should feel quite ready for bed.” She stepped backwards into her doorway at that; Kara tried to think nothing of it, but felt as if she were being enticed just a touch at the movement preceded by those words. Lena took another step back, and again Kara tried not to think anything of it, staying firmly planted at the steps, but then Lena was tilting her head at her and smiling. “Can I tempt you... with a drink?”

Kara’s cool exterior faulted her slightly in that moment, and a crooked grin stole across her face as she pushed off up the step. “That’d be nice,” she said, her grin spreading a touch as one took up on Lena’s face as well. Kara closed the door behind her quietly as Lena picked up the small candle by it, and for a moment they were standing nearer than their handshake earlier that day had granted them, but they were quick to move off and not linger dangerously in the moment.

There was nothing meant by the slight pause in Lena’s offer, of course, and yet Kara could sense that both of their minds were hovering over it as they walked to Lena’s office. As the brunette opened the door, a cooling breeze ran through it and caught itself in her robe which began to float around her ankles. She did not mind, and nor did Kara, but the breeze was a welcome sensation for the blonde. “The night is a warm one.”

“It is; is it normally this sticky?” Lena asked as they walked into her office.

“Yes, and no. Not every night is humid, but when they are...”

“They are like this. Oh, joy,” Lena exclaimed sarcastically, heading to the decanters of liquor on the sideboard across the room. “Upstairs doesn’t have any windows quite this large,” she gestured to the open one affording the breeze; a breeze which flickered through the candle flame as Lena set it down. “And so, I ran myself a cool bath, unable to think of how else to cool down.”

Kara tried to think of something to say, but her mind was caught on the statement of Lena in a bath, and simply the word ‘bath’. How ironically cruel, she thought, that she had been hoping for one whilst the other woman was enjoying one.

“I would offer a cup of tea, but that is far too warm for a night like this, so shall rum do?”

“A pirate never turns down a free glass of rum,” was Kara’s answer, and she rattled her brain as to why she couldn’t have simply just said ‘yes’ instead. She looked up to catch the last of Lena’s sly smirk at her remark before she turned back to the sideboard, her profile illuminated in the moon and candle light. Lena turned a moment later with a glass in each hand, and stepped towards Kara.

“Have a seat,” she said, and handed Kara her drink before taking a seat in the one beside her instead of in the one across the desk. “How long is Deo expected to be out of port?”

Kara took a sip, carefully, and unknowingly, trying to stretch out the silence. “Only a week.” She rested the glass down against her belt, above her crotch as she spread her legs to sit comfortably. She watched as Lena watched her, then nervously turned back to her own glass of rum for a sip, her eyes diving into the rich liquid as it slipped in between her lips. “We usually leave for more than that, but all we’re sailing for is some more supplies and a new sail a few ports north.”

“Oh, is one of your sails damaged?”

“No. Captain J’onzz likes to change this one specific sail every three years. Something about the only sail that has ever ripped under his command, and so he changes it over for superstition sake.” Kara finished with a shake of her head, bringing her glass back up to her lips to take a drink. Again, she could feel the other woman’s eyes on her actions, so she ran the tip of her tongue along the smooth glass lip for a moment before taking a sip, eliciting the same response. Lena brought her glass up to her own mouth nervously to drink, breaking the eye contact, and any other connection, with Kara as swiftly as possible.

The silence returned, and while Kara was having just the slightest bit of fun, she couldn’t deny that she was also having a similar nervous reaction to Lena sitting so elegantly a few feet away from her in her robe. She assumed that the other woman had a night dress on underneath as well, but in this dim lighting, she couldn’t be sure. What she could be sure of, however, was that her mind was wandering increasingly close to thinking of Lena as anything other than mayor, and that she needed to drag herself back.

“You said that you took over your brother’s company? Had you ever had your own company?” In the vein of beginning a friendship with Lena, she wanted not to just be a pirate under her watch and command, an acquaintance and ally, but a friend whom she could talk to and confide in. Of course, it would be of benefit to Kara and, indirectly, Deo to have a stronger, more personal connection with the woman running the port, but Kara saw it as more than that. She genuinely wanted to befriend this woman.

She had been the new one before, to a new land, a new group of people, and ultimately, a new family, and it had been a slow and sometimes painful process. She was the ‘other’ without anything she became part of something that Alex hadn’t become part of first. Even Deo, her home and pride, was something that Alex had grown to claim and know before she had even stepped aboard it. So, with this new woman in her home, in the place she knew, she saw the same shy light in Lena that she had often felt in herself. She found a person that could be a first for her, a friend for her, and she could be the kind voice for Lena that Alex had been for her when she felt alone.

“I don’t mean to pry,” Kara continued, even though Lena had shown no sign of hesitating to answer. “I only know how it feels to be new in a place and it take a while for people to get to know you.”

“Oh... that’s kind of you, Kara, really. I’d never had my own company to look over because I was never really a Luthor, and was therefore not trusted, or not honoured as one,” Lena spoke, reaching over to her desk to place down her almost emptied glass. “You see, I was adopted into the family when I was a child.”

“You were?” Kara asked, her voice raising in pitch. Kara had never met anyone who had also been adopted into their family, and while knowing it was a common occurrence, resided to the fact that she would never meet someone with the same experiences. “I was as well.”

“You don’t say,” Lena said with a smile, leaning back in her chair at a different angle to look at Kara more, to regard her. “Well, _Kara_ ,” she emphasised, “I wonder what else we have in common.”

“I wonder...” Kara repeated, taking another sly sip of her rum.

“When did you join Deo?” Lena’s voice piqued, apparently excited by the aspect of having commonalities with another person.

“Five years ago,” she answered before reaching over to place down her empty glass as well.

“How old were you?” Lena asked, knowing for sure that Kara couldn’t be any older than her early twenties.

“I was fifteen.”

“Goodness. At fifteen, I was still in school, and my mother was already trying to find a man for me to marry.”

“No, thank you,” Kara grimaced. “Men are swine.”

“I can certainly live without them. And I love my father dearly, and was so saddened by his death-“

“I’m sorry, Lena,” Kara interjected, reaching her arm out to the other woman. Before she let it fall, Lena’s hand met hers and they grasped at each other for a moment. Hands outstretched from two different paths of life, brought together to meet in friendship, they shared a smile before Lena continued.

“It’s quite alright, Kara. I miss him, but he left me a substantial amount of money which I used to start up my life here. If I hadn’t been afforded that inheritance, I would most certainly be married to a man right now.” She squeezed at Kara’s hand before letting go. “Life has a way of sorting things out for the better sometimes.”

“I agree.” Lena stood and picked up her glass, and pointed to Kara’s as well, so she nodded, and the other woman picked it up to refill. “My father died when I was a child, I don’t know what age. And my mother a year after.”

“That’s terrible. I’m so sorry,” Lena’s voice carried across the room.

“But you’re right; life has a way of making things better. I was taken into a family; a young friend of mine’s parents accepted me and now they are my family.”

“Two Danvers...” Lena echoed their earlier conversation as she walked back over.

“My once friend, now my sister as well. Alex.”

“That certainly is a happy ending,” Lena handed Kara her glass. “Now you are inseparable?”

“Quite; we do get into a small amount of trouble on ship, but it’s mostly Alex’s fault.”

“I’m sure,” Lena said with a smirk. “I, too, would blame most of the trouble Lex and I got into on him, but I guess now it shows that he truly was the troublemaker.”

“What happened with him, may I ask? You, of course, do not have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Again, Lena’s hand came out, and Kara met it, holding again for longer in connection. At the persistence of her heart thrumming in her ear, Kara flashed a nervous smile, even though Lena couldn’t see it, and then slipped her hand out from the other’s grasp.

“You’re a dear,” and Kara felt her throat go thick as she swallowed. “He grew hungry for power, and no amount of reasoning from me, or beloved mama,” she said facetiously, “could make him see the error of his ways. His kindness for me that was so welcoming when I was a child seemed to fade when it came to what he wanted for himself.”

“He became cruel?”

“He became indifferent to my existence and hopes for him. So, yes, cruel.” There was a silence again that began to grow, to settle and offer comfort for both women; blanketed them as they simply sat in each other’s presence and sipped from their rum.

Kara finished hers and the small clock in the corner of the room, one that Cat had bought years ago and Deo had procured for her, rung with the passing of another hour. Lena shifted in her chair to look at it, but couldn’t quite see, and so Kara read it instead. “It’s two o’clock.”

“You had better be off then, young Danvers. You need at least some sleep before setting sail in the morn,” Lena said before finishing her rum and standing. Lena offered her hand to Kara, intending to help her up, and Kara obliged and stood, stepping into her space for a moment.

The humid air grew thicker for a second, only that small amount of rum already seeming to cloud judgement and decorum, and Kara’s breath hitched in her throat. She swallowed nervously again, and stepped away just as quickly as she had stepped in. “Thank you for the drinks, Lena,” she said softly, enjoying the other woman’s name on the tip of her tongue. “I shall see you when Deo returns, I suppose.”

Lena stepped around the chair, comfortably leading Kara by the hand as she began for the door. “I look forward to it.” It was a whisper, possibly meant not to be heard; at least for the emotion not to be heard, but in the dead of night with the air so quiet and vibrant between them, of course Kara heard it clearly. Soon, they were at the front door, and Lena was opening it for Kara. The blonde turned and looked over her shoulder, to the office door still open behind Lena, and the doorway that seemed to flicker with another candle to the side, and then back to Lena’s eyes.

“Good night, my friend,” Kara whispered with a smile.

Lena bit her lip, then let it go to smile softly. “Good night, Kara.”

Finally, sadly, their hands dropped from their hold, and Kara took one last look at sparkling eyes before turning to head back to Deo.

~ ~ ~ ~

“Up on deck, little one!” Alex’s voice came, abruptly, shrill and deafeningly. It was an odd sensation to be so deep in sleep that nothing short of a persistent yell would rouse her. Kara had walked back from Lena’s last night, the gentle lacing of rum making her feel fuzzy and warmer in a different way than the weather would allow, and paused at the edge of her hammock before crawling in and falling asleep immediately. She folded her jacket under her head as a make shift pillow and was soon deep into a sleep so comforting that she felt that she could stay there forever.

Alas, only a few too-short hours later, Alex’s too-excitable voice was bellowing far too loudly in her right ear, and she had to let go of that sleep. She sat up in her hammock, amused as to the other members of the crew rudely awoken by Alex and now glaring at ‘little one’ before grumbling and sinking back into their hammocks.

She was unsure what had allowed her to fall so kindly into such a sleep, leaving her, while suddenly awoken, entirely rested. Perhaps it was the warm air she had gracing her skin as she walked, or the two glasses that were possibly larger than any standard size drink Maggie would serve her, or most likely the soothing comfort and company of the new mayor. Considering, she thought, that each were calming in their own right, the combination of all lead her to a rather gentle late night that eased her into such a welcomed and needed sleep.

Now, she could feel through the porthole, sunrise was upon Deo and so she needed to rise with it. She, with select and trusted others, were set for morning check duty; making sure that all that was needed for their shorter than average voyage was properly stored and prepared for when they were at sea. Thankfully, they would not be venturing too far from the coast at any point, but it was still preferred for any ship to not make any unforeseen stops at foreign or unfamiliar ports for an item, especially when that item could be easily sought and stored on the ship prior to setting off.

Kara swung out of her hammock and brought her still booted feet down to the deck as quietly as possible, then tip-toed out and up the stairs to the deck where Alex awaited. “Where were you last night?”

“Yeah, Miss Danvers,” Vasquez piped up, shooting her a smirk. “Heard you stumble into your hammock in the early hours, it must’ve been.”

“So, what had you out so late?”

“Or early, to be exact?” Alex nudged Vasquez for that apt amendment to her question, a nod of approval, and as much as Kara was ready to burst at the seams about how good she seemed to feel, whether because of Lena or not – she wasn’t entirely sure – she also seemed to have a sense as to when the captain was on deck.

She looked up and out he stepped from his cabin, and she immediately stepped off to the rigging that she was due to check, leaving the two gossiping girls behind her to continue gossiping. “Captain,” she greeted as they passed, him to head to the lower deck and discuss navigation points with Vasquez, and her to climb around and then up the rigging to the masts. Always seen as a task for the most daring or more experienced sailors, Kara remembered the first time she began climbing the rigging to check masts and lashes. It was her very first week on the ship, and when a sailor unfortunately took ill, Kara volunteered to take his place and finish his jobs, and so up the rigging she climbed.

Of course, there was an ounce of fear in her for the tremendous height of Deo’s masts were enough to make a grown man second guess the decision, but young Kara knew that this was a moment that could show her commitment and willingness to continue. From that day on, Kara was always the fastest up and down, and with impeccable workmanship and attention to detail.

She could also not lie to herself as she climbed, that when she reached her rest point and began to check, she knew with a simple gaze out across the port, past the palm trees and few other masts from the ship, she could see the top floor’s windows and roof of Lena’s place. In her mind, the shift had occurred, and it was no longer the ‘mayor’s office’ that just happened to house their living space the next floor above, but was – primarily after last night’s visit – Lena’s place that just happened to have her office the next floor down. She shook her head, sweeping the stray hairs from her face, and focussed back on her check, and when she was satisfied with them all at this height, she took one last glance with a smile in her mind, and began to descend.

“How does the day look from up there, Danvers?” she heard as her feet slipped into new holds as she clambered down. When she was secure in her grip, she looked down and across to J’onzz who stood proudly at the rail. “It looks to be a good day from here.”

“From up above as well, sir. Barely a cloud in the sky, but definitely a strong breeze will be behind us,” Kara said, climbing down around the rail. She jumped down beside him, and mirrored his stance: broad shoulders, hands clasped behind and chest puffed out. Invincible.

She looked out over the ocean, feeling the pull of it, and smiled at the sensation she always enjoyed. Wishing to be out in the middle of nowhere with only what could last a few weeks was a concept that was oddly so freeing to Kara. Perhaps it was the part of her soul that knew that her father’s spirit now resided in those waves; his pain the tempests that had threatened to destroy Deo but only pushed Kara to fight harder, longer and with more inside reasoning with her father; his kindness the mornings after that would grant their fishing pots a bounteous supply of food; his wisdom that not only taught Kara to follow her instinct, the vibes that guided her through life, but threw her into new circumstances which she was to learn from.

A voyage to the ocean granted Kara more learning than she ever thought she could learn about herself in any schooling or book. And that tug in her heart to soon return to it was that voice in her head that let her know it was time again to voyage. She felt it in her fingertips and nose, the crisp morning air making her tingle and wish to dive into the waves below just to be there already, but whereas this drawing sensation would often feel like a simultaneous pull from the ocean and push from the shore, as she stood next to her captain, she found that push quite absent.

No pull replaced it, or any other sensation really, but as her mind came to rest upon it and wonder, soon a gentle touch began to appear there. A touch that was nothing to pull her back, rather hold her from doing so at all, preparing to push her almost, yet also saying, _I’m here._ This sensation that she had never felt, never encountered in any aspect of her life before up until now; she decided that it was nice, a good sensation. It was comforting and supportive, in some form, perhaps a reminder or a sign that something was waiting for her to return this time around.

In an instant, her mind raced through what could possibly be so new and impactful as to explain this shift in her almost ritualistic sensation. Lena became the sole occupancy of her mind, and she smiled. Among the sailors who left, or stayed and visited ashore for love, Kara had been pleased for them but hollow in herself in that regard. She had no person or reason to be pulled back to shore in due time. Now, it seemed, while that was not a certainty, it was perhaps a possibility.

She had felt for Cat, and Cat for her, but not in the capacity that would grant such a shift, and so Kara found herself, for once, in unfamiliar waters, so to speak. She had a promise, a hope, of something, some anything, blossoming with Lena. The thought scared her. Her breath was stolen from her lungs, but then she found herself able to breathe and that air tasted oh, so fresh.

_Lena..._ her mind whispered, and she felt a childish thrill explode in her. She thought of Lena, of her smile, and their trusting talks from the night before; their holding of hands, and cheek of conversation; her past that lead her to Port Nationale, and her future in Port Nationale. _Future..._ Kara stumbled. Again, her breath was stolen from her, but this time in the remembrance of what conversation she was to have with J’onzz at the setting of the sun that eve.

“Are we still to discuss what I had heard yesterday, sir?” She felt dumbfounded at the realisation that it was only yesterday that she had heard of the news from Cat. It seemed so long ago, as if at least a whole other day had passed between then and where they were now. Of course, her day had been lengthened by her late-night wander and visit to the mayor’s building, and now she felt stupid. She had been sitting with Lena, offering the hand of true friendship and trust, a promise shared between eyes and the _holding of hands_ , when she also knew that this woman could change the very future of her existence at Port Nationale.

“Indeed, Danvers. At the turn of night, we shall talk.”

“And I will bring the rum,” she said, jokingly hinting at his request when they arranged the meet, while also thinking in herself that she may need the liquor to blur the line between what may end up being friend, and enemy. She doubted that Lena would be contorted into becoming a foe of Deo or the captain, but after such a long-standing partnership, her decision would essentially be to pull the rug from underneath J’onzz, and the consequences could be dire.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, my lovelies! Do let me know what you think or if you have any questions thus far xx


	4. CHAPTER FOUR

Day felt the same as night in Port Nationale, the humid air both crisping and swallowing whole as the sun rose. It never eased, only harshened. Bare skin became a solace and necessity, but soon enough even skin became too warm and only bred more moisture when touching. On new-comers’ first day experiencing the port, they would be warned of thieves that crawled in through open windows at night; on their first night experiencing the heat, they would realise that the dense air of closed-up bedrooms would ruin them before thieves, and so windows were left open. Those who were fortunate enough to have a second or even third floor found the privilege of open windows through the sun and the moon, rarely having to worry of unwanted visitors; besides insects.

They were a whole other concern and nuisance, but one that the people of Port Nationale soon got used to. Lena would get used to them too, in time, but first she needed to adjust herself to the heat, or more accurately, the wet warmth. Not quite the kind she would typically think of when presented with those words, she readied herself for it as soon as her mind slipped out of sleep. The early morning rabble from the streets below, with the gentle brushing of palm fronds against each other was never going to let the new mayor’s mind stay in her dreams for too long after the day began.

With a deep breath, relishing the fleeting sensation of cool sheets across her bare skin, hardly a shade of difference between the two, Lena stretched out along her mattress. Ruffled sheets sent ripples up her skin as the two ran against each other, and she dared to press her body harder into her bed. The exertion of the action, coupled with the already warm morning, flicked a switch within her and her once cool and lazed body quickly began to heat up and cling to her sheets. Lena rolled to her back and finally opened her eyes, glad to see a gentle breeze creeping in between her thin curtains, allowing the room she was soon to stand up in to be at least a little cooler.

Raven waves, frizzed and in need of a brush, splayed across her pillow and around her neck and shoulders, before the tips weaved over and under the edge of the crisp sheet that covered her chest. There was a thicker cover of rusted gold colour kicked down to the foot of the bed more, the bulk of it coming up and around to occupy the unused side in a sort of nesting edge for Lena to have backed up against for comfort in her sleep. Now that the day’s heat had kicked in, however, it had been pushed away in lieu of the solo white sheet.

Lena slid her hands out from covers and underneath her pillow to reach out at her sides, stretching. Her right arm and hand unfurled slowly, muscles flexing as it did, and soon it was outstretched completely, her fingers lengthening and poising to wake them up before bumping against cool glass. She turned her head quickly to look, retracting her hand as she did, and saw the empty glass sitting at the edge of her bedside table. She reached back out and nudged it back to a safer position on the table as she remembered another drink after Kara had left last night, coming upstairs with her and sliding down her warm throat as she sat at her window to watch the pirate slowly sway out of view.

Bringing her hands to her chest as she bit her lip in memory, she pressed her palms down to her breasts, bare under the sheet, and felt the slightest bit racy in the gesture. The night had been warm, and she had just enjoyed a bath. She was loathe to put both a nightdress and robe on to welcome Kara, considering the heat, and so had made a rash decision to simply wear the robe; at least the impression of an undergarment could be present. After her third drink for the eve in less than an hour, the temperature and rise of her body left her feeling far too carefree to change one piece of clothing for another just to crawl into bed and feel too warm again shortly after.

She looked down her body with a tilt of her head to the side where the white of her robe peaked out resting on the edge of her bed, held up and on by the weight of the folded and pushed down cover. Her eyes roamed back up the shape of her body, ghosted over with the sheet, and bit her lip a little again as she began to move about just enough to feel the thin sheet against her skin. It was a sensation she had never felt before, the temperatures in New York generally too cool to allow for such a daring gesture; she certainly wouldn’t have been seen in high regard if her family had walked in to find her naked in bed either.

Lena’s first week in Port Nationale had been warm, of course – last night was not an odd occurrence, but no night had been graced by the presence of Kara nor alcohol, and so there she lay; the result of an affected mind due to both leaving her wanting to be naked, whether to escape the heat or not. It had also been an extremely restful night, and she put that down to a combination of factors. The rum obviously left her feeling sleepy, Kara’s company cared for, and the freedom of clothing comfortable. She had few things to accomplish that day, but knew that she should get to doing them so that she had the afternoon, or most thereof, to wander about town and acquaint herself more with the locals.

The breeze continued through the window, and so when she sat up, the sheet slipping away, she could feel the soft sensation reach her skin, and it felt delightful. A surprised gasp at the newness, and then a moment of decision; she liked it and could easily get used to it. Put simply, cool air on her breasts made her feel free and powerful all at once, like the emotional equivalent of a long stalking glare up through hooded eyes.

She could stay lost in the moment and feeling forever, but what sort of mayor would she be if she did. She pushed the sheet aside, allowing more skin to be exposed to the air, and, deciding to embrace the more powerful edge of the sensation, she pushed up off her mattress to stand and took the few steps to the edge of her bed for her robe instead of simply reaching for it and pulling it on as she left the bed. The few seconds of walking through open air, in her own bedroom of her mayoral home completely naked held a sort of hallmark stamp to it, and the moment was immediately committed to memory as one that she would gladly, and would attempted to, repeat.

She would make her bed later, after breakfast, and so as she pulled on her robe, tying it loosely around her waist, she stepped away from her bed to her window. Parting the curtain only as much as her robe was, revealing a slither of skin down to her tummy and the deft swells of her breasts, she looked out over _her_ town. Down to the street as the children ran about and played with small wooden swords, to the stalls of food and crops down lanes, and up to the sun-beaten rooftops and skyline that lead her to the ocean in the distance, she let her eyes roam.

Across where the ocean began against the edge of a roofline, she could see masts of different heights and condition scattered across, the brown and salt-sprayed wood contrasting the rich blue of the water. To the right, there was a section that featured an absence of masts, and knowing that the only ship scheduled to leave port that day was Deo, she whispered a wish of speedy return for her friend the pirate.

~ ~ ~ ~

The breeze in her hair, tickling the lobes of her ears just as Lena’s words had the night before, Kara hung from the rigging as she looked back to shore. Never had she done that before, and so made a mental note to only enjoy the view for so long, lest she be perceived as longing for something back home, or someone. Obviously, such a notion would be suggested by resident gossipers, Alex and Vasquez, their chatter of recognition in everything Kara did sounding an awful lot like the chatter of seagulls at times.

Kara ignored them, for each time she passed by them on her way to help with more rigging or to move to her next watch they would try to catch her attention. Finally, she stopped to hear what they had to say or ask, but only smiled with a pitying tilt of her head when they had begun theorising as to where Kara was the night before. She would not give them the satisfaction, and frankly doubted that it was any of their business for the moment; she would tell them when she felt like it was the right time.

She was at port side heading down past the rail to the bow, simply wanting to see Deo’s course, and found Vasquez there with a glass, surveying the horizon. Not wanting to avoid the woman just because of her tendency to needle in until she found the information she was after, Kara stood up beside her. A few moments passed, and Vasquez passed the glass to Kara to look. “A few clouds around the headland,” she said, before handing the glass back to Vasquez. They were a shade closer to grey than white, so it looked as if they might be in for a refreshing shower or two before the day was through.

Vasquez nodded and slipped the glass back into the loop at her waist that she’d keep it in, and another pause settled in. “Alex doesn’t know about Luthor, in case you were worried,” Vasquez spoke in a softer voice. No crew member was in the vicinity, but Kara appreciated the more inconspicuous delivery of the statement. She didn’t need or want Lena’s name to be thrown around the deck in any capacity, whether as a potential foe, or for petty gossip purposes. She smiled thankfully to the woman at her side. “It’s not my place to inform her of anything to do with your affections; that’s your prerogative.”

“Thank you. I know you and Alex have your own connection, affections for each other, but I’m glad that you haven’t taken that as a reason to tell her things on my behalf.”

“Never, Kara. My trust with you is completely separate from Alex.” Another smile, of appreciation and friendship, and then they turned back to look at the wide ocean in front of them. “I do feel as if she may have a sense that something may be up with you, though.”

“Perhaps I should go and have a word with her then.”

“Only if you want to,” Vasquez reiterated.

“Of course,” Kara said as she turned. Placing a hand to Vasquez’s shoulder as she stepped off, she was glad to have the people in her life that cared for her and her wishes. So often she had seen a friendship or allegiance between pirates, especially, be overthrown by means of controllership. A friend making a decision on behalf of another thinking that it wold be good for them, or a secret shared for their own safety; Kara knew that it was each person’s choosing and right to divulge facts or secrets at their own accord. Otherwise, it would be a breach of trust, and she never wanted to be found guilty of committing such an act against those she cared for.

Leisurely pacing about the ship, she looked for Alex, missing, now that she thought about her, the comfort that her mere presence gave when they were this far out to sea. Losing her father at the hands of the ocean, Kara always felt a little unnerved when they reached the point of no return, the point in their sail when no land could be seen on the horizon. In those moments, Alex had always made sure to be near, whether flush by her side, holding her hand, or within a few paces reach. An irrational beating of her heart began when Kara could not see her sister, but then her eyes latched onto the captain up at the bridge and Alex popped up beside him, sending a smile in her direction.

The voyage was going to expectation, and Alex was near. Kara felt at ease again and prepared herself to climb the rigging to take lookout for the next few hours, excited by the thought of the rain joining her. She took a drink from her day’s portion of water and took a banana offered to her from a member of crew as she reached up to the rigging. When the sailor she was to relieve jumped down to the deck, she passed by him quickly with the banana held between her teeth. She reached her post, a small wooden tub, essentially, that she could easily stand in to obtain a view from all around. At some point, she had brought up an unused crate with an old sack to make a basic seat so that for longer postings, the crew on duty could let their legs relax.

She took her seat and ate her banana, squinting up into the sun so that she may feel it warm on her face. At sea, there was a less humid edge to a bright sunny day, the obvious wind allowing for the sun to remain just at the level of harsh before tipping over to unbearably humid. She flipped up the collar of her shirt after finishing the banana, bringing it around her neck to avoid sunburn as much as she could. She called below to a crew member before dropping her peel, not needing it to stay up with her and grow a stench as it cooked in the heat.

Then she sat back with the glass for the lookout in her lap and gazed around, keeping an eye on the looming clouds that brought the rains she was so oddly excited about. Perhaps foreseeing that they would be no more than a brief shower, bringing only a refreshing edge to the hot day, she felt as if she could enjoy both that and the blanket of coolness that an obstructing cloud could offer from the sun. Too often, even the slightest of clouds could be enough to make a pirate fear them when they were dark. On this occasion, however, Kara was sure, and with Vasquez’s agreement, that these clouds would be harmless and kind to Deo, hence her excitement at their pending approach.

Her personal challenge until then, she shortly began to realise, was that throughout the calmer seas and the agreeable weather, she would soon grow too comfortable and her lack of sleep from the night before would creep up on her. She could afford to relax when the seas were calm, but never, unless she was in her hammock, was she or any other pirate permitted to sleep. Being on duty carried an even more emphasised weight of that rule, and so she had to keep herself entertained and awake as best she could.

After watching Alex for a time wander about the deck, and then Vasquez, and Winn, it grew as monotonous as their movements, and so she needed another solution to her approaching fatigue. The rains, that would surely wake her up and keep her enthralled throughout their stay would still be an hour off it seemed, and so she had to maintain her vigilant focus with her own ingenuity and ability. It was never of any use to keep a constant look at the horizon with the glass, for one’s eyes would grow tired and strained, and so it was the best method to check whenever the pirate on lookout consciously remembered the glass in their hand.

They would change seating positions, change which hand to hold the glass with, or just simply think that it was time to scout, and so they would. Kara’s mind seemed to have a general good clock working within it, and so she would get the urge to make a look about the horizon and waters below every ten minutes or so, allowing her to maintain her job efficiently and effectively, while still, more or less, having some down time to read or think of her own trivial matters.

She had read the book almost a hundred times over, but nevertheless Kara unbuttoned her shirt just enough and reached inside to the inner pocket she had sewn on carefully and securely that held her father’s book in it. Her hands had found home on those pages, enough so that many years had passed since the original cover had worn and ripped off. The memory of her father attaching a new one, this one of crisp, sun-dried papyrus, with his hand writing and sketches to make it anew, was the cover that Kara now knew it to contain, not the old hardened card one, with the author’s name.

Each time she had read it, a new line of the author’s or her father’s scribbles had resonated with her and allowed her to see the world differently, through new eyes. Those lines usually held weight as to what was happening in her life at that time, and would therefore act as a sort of guidance. Last she had read, a line comparing the ocean to a strong and willed woman and the respect and utmost patience that must be granted them sat firmly in Kara’s mind for days afterwards, and she accredited her stronger friendship and understanding with Cat to that line.

Through the words, neither largely impactful nor boring, Kara would try to connect a phrase, any phrase to the feeling in her chest. She looked through the glass to the horizon, and when they were again noted to be the only ship on the sea, she returned to her words. She noticed a scribble of her father’s next to a passage about love in all its capacities; the night sky’s constellations, a basic little sketch of a baby in a blanket, the words, “she was born under the colour in a storm.” She assumed it was her, and when looking out to sea to smile for him, she saw those colours.

Grey clouds were approaching ever closer, and a few hundred yards from their bow, the haze of rain could be seen. Breaking through it all, borne in the rain and illuminated by the day, a colourful stream arched across the horizon. Her eyes returned to her book, deciding that she could finish the rest of the page before the rain set in. At the bottom of the passage, finishing perfectly before the page needed to be turned, sat a point that frightened Kara in how accurately it pertained to her. “A sailor’s life is short, and a silent and unshared love is a poison. Matters of the heart do not make a man weak,” an amendment by her father adding “or woman,” before it continued. “And so, to protect one’s self against such a poison, this love must be divulged, kindly and with sincerity.”

She sat with those words swimming in her head, Cat flashing through her mind, but they so easily became drowned out by the image of Lena in her white robe, illuminated by candlelight and the moon. Their most recent conversation still haunted her, and she suddenly connected that those words and hand holds were responsible for the floating weight in her chest. She felt that she could grow quite attached to the mayor, but of course, she knew now that it would certainly get worse before growing better. She had to tell J’onzz of what she had heard, and act accordingly to his orders should he need her too. She was of the crew of Deo, first and foremost, and could not let a thing stand between her and her duty.

Slipping her book back into her pocket, she buttoned her shirt back up and grabbed her glass. She could easily see to the rains, and directly through them, and so she was certain that it would only be a passing shower, meek in its delivery. A final full scout of the ocean, and then she settled securely into her post, preparing to enjoy what was to come. She watched J’onzz and Alex down below stand at the bridge rail, then to the rest of the crew, pausing when the first drops touched their hot skin.

Her breath feeling warm in her throat, Kara breathed out heavily as the first drops covered her. They were light and sweet on her skin, and she turned her face up to the sky, feeling them run down her. She opened her mouth and tasted them, a salty edge to them. They sat on her lips, and on the edges of her eyelashes, cleansing her of every ounce of worry in her body. She felt free and new, rejuvenated by their cool touch, as if she could take on the world and the loves that complicated them all in stride, and with gumption. The rains made her feel reborn, alike to her actual birth, and it was invigorating.

Still checking for other activity on the water, a few spots of rain were enlarged on the end of her glass, and she imagined a whole ocean within them. They were safe, and would be reaching the next port in a few hours, planning to stop for the night so that they could acquire what they were there to collect at daybreak. At the clocking over of the next hour, her watch would be over, and then she would be granted rest time and opportunity to eat. Until then, she attempted to read, but was unable to focus upon rereading the section from before.

She thought of Lena, the mysterious woman with a dark and unfortunate past filled with loss and sacrifices haunting Kara in not just how she had seemed to grow and rise above it all, but also for how similar it felt to some of the events she had lived through herself. This woman, a potential enemy or someone to be wary of, could be so much alike her that she wouldn’t care to dare be against her. A sense of kinship washed over Kara as she began to descend from her watch, and she felt for the first time, not just worry, but a dislike at what she would be speaking to her captain in a few short hours.

She jumped down to the deck, and to her surprise, Alex was there to meet her. “Hey, you,” she said, stepping aside for her relief to start up the rigging. “Did you enjoy the rain?”

“I did; J’onzz was worried for a moment or two, but I’m sure he felt refreshed by it in the end. He’s nervous,” Alex continued, almost in the same breath.

“About?”

“He told me of a meeting you are to have with him at nightfall. Anything to concern myself with?”

“Possibl...” Kara said, looking down at her feet, but then looked up to see concern on Alex’s face anyway. “It’s nothing to do with me. I heard something ashore and just want to make the captain aware of it.” Alex’s face relaxed. “I am sure J’onzz will inform you should he deem it necessary.” As they crossed the deck, her older sister now apparently leading her to get some food and sleep, Winn passed them before slipping on the still-wet deck, reaching out for Kara as he fell. She was too slow and he came down splittingly onto the deck, blood oozing from his elbow.

“Ah,” he groaned, and then Kara was down to his aid. “Clumsy me.”

“Clumsy you,” she echoed and helped him up, directing him to the steps by them for him to sit. Alex was already in with a bucket and rag to clean up the blood, a health hazard, and when she was done, Kara took the bucket. Tying a rope to it and throwing it overboard, she then pulled it up slowly and sat down with it beside Winn. Alex appeared with a makeshift bandage and so she dipped it into the bucket of sea water when it was handed to her. She rung it out and looked at Winn for the go-ahead, and then pressed it to his open wound.

He winced in pain, but knew that the salt would help to avoid infection, so bared it. Soon his arm was being wrapped and Alex was throwing the water over board, and it was just him and Kara again. The blonde readjusted the bandage as she went, not wanting to cut off circulation or inhibit him from bending his arm at all. Her focus intense, Winn watched amusedly and with a kind smile. “You know, Kara,” and waited for her to look up. “I’ve always liked you.”

She sat and looked at him, before a soft smile broke out across her face. “I know.”

“You do? As in, I am attracted to you,” he said in a lower tone, to which she again stated that she knew. “Why not say anything then?”

“Winn. You are my friend, my good friend. I care for you very much and would miss your presence and wit if we were to be parted, but... I do not feel for you in that way.”

“Because of Cat,” he nodded, sitting back.

“Regardless of Cat. Before Cat, I knew. Yet, no affection for you developed.” She pressed her hand atop his and smiled sympathetically. “I am sorry if this sounds harsh in any way, but I cannot choose whom I feel for.”

“I know,” he said, downcast, yet understanding. “It is a gift in itself to be your friend, just the same.”

“I am glad to hear,” she smiled, before double checking his bandage and standing up. “If you are all fine, I will go and eat something.”

“By all means,” he nodded and watched her as she left. He shook his head after a moment, telling himself, yet again, to move on.

Kara skipped down the stairs to the kitchen, smiling when she arrived and saw Alex stuffing her face with what she assumed was her meal. “You cannot be trusted, Danvers.” Her sister only smiled as toothily as could be managed through her food and pushed the plate to Kara. There was still enough of whatever it was to fill her, and so she dug in. The cook handed her a piece of bread to have as well, and she smiled similarly at him as how Alex had smiled at her.

“Can we talk?” the elder Danvers asked, to which Kara nodded. When she was finished her plate of food, she thanked the cook and picked at her bread as she walked with Alex to their bunks. She jumped into her hammock, sighing with exhaustion and settling herself down comfortably.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” and Alex shrugged. “You didn’t have anything in mind?”

“No,” Alex laughed, and Kara joined her.

“You are strange.” Kara picked at her bread until it was gone before speaking again. “Tell me about Maggie.”

“You know her.”

“I only know of her as the person who serves my rum, and of what little you have told me. What is she like?”

“She loves to write.”

“Really? Poetry? Prose?”

“Just writing. As in the act of writing.”

“Hand writing... calligraphy?” Kara specified.

“Yes. She writes me letters and little notes sometimes...” Alex trailed off. “They’re quite sweet.”

“Yeah?” Kara smiled, not usually privy to hearing much about Alex’s love life. She wondered why that might be, then recalled what Vasquez had said to her earlier. “Alex... are you wanting to know if I have a lover?”

“No,” she answered, rather unconvincingly, warranting a glare from her little sister. “I can just tell that something is new with you. I don’t want to pry, but should you want to tell me... of course, I am always here to listen.”

“I know you are,” Kara said, propping herself up in her hammock to look at Alex better. “I’m simply... unsure at the moment. Of many things. When I know... when I know what I feel, Alex, and want to share that information, I will.”

“I know you will,” Alex said, standing up and crossing to Kara. She touched on her shoulder for her to lie down. “I just wanted you to remember that,” she smiled, then leaned in to kiss the blonde’s forehead. “Sleep, now, little one,” and with that, Kara was left to think too many thoughts until exhaustion took over.

~ ~ ~ ~

Kara awoke with the rocking of her hammock by a member of crew, jostling her into consciousness not unlike those dreams of her falling overboard, or the other night with the kiss to her forehead. She grabbed at the edge of her hammock to steady herself as she looked around in the darkened cabin for who was there, and saw Alex’s face soothing her down. “Shh, sorry,” she spoke, reaching for Kara’s arms to calm her.

“S’okay...” she forgave, her eyes slowly adjusting to the bare minimum of light that the dusk outside was granting. “It’s nightfall?”

“We’re pulling into the bay and will dock in less than an hour, so you don’t have much time,” Alex explained as she helped Kara out of her hammock, then pushing her off towards the stairs.

She had meant to only sleep for an hour, perhaps two at most, but obviously her fatigue was stronger than she had previously thought, and upon recalling her sleep, the dreams that filled her brain and bones were hardly the type to let her wake. As she climbed up the narrow steps to the deck, she retraced her steps in her dream, ascending those familiar yet strange stairs again in her most recent sleep, but this time not even lit by a candle. The entirety of this dream was dark now, mysterious, and she didn’t even know if she was herself; for all she knew she could have been playing a part.

Turning to look back down the stairs at Alex not far behind, she looked back in her dream as well. No one was behind her there, not even the whistles of breeze through an open window. She was completely alone and ascending a set of stairs that she felt so comfortable on yet unfamiliar. Across the deck, she felt her body slow and her steps echo in her brain, her dream-self walking around the landing and up the next flight of stairs. The rooms that met her at the top flooded out moonlight, the same glistening kind that splayed across the ocean as Kara looked out at it crossing the deck.

She reached the stairs that took her up to the bridge, and she looked down at the lower deck before ascending, mirroring that in her dream; a gaze once more down the stairs before rounding the corner to a doorway, a bedroom. She reached out to touch the door frame, the hand rail of the stairs, and stepped to it. As Kara slowly walked into the room, feeling herself remove her jacket and drop her belt, the figure in the bed rolling to face her, she crossed the bridge to J’onzz’s door and took a deep breath, trying to step out of the replaying of her dream.

She knocked at his door as her dream showed her rounding the foot of the bed and edging closer to the person, the woman, under the covers. They were cloaked in darkness, in Kara’s own shadow and so she didn’t see their face when they reached up and pulled her down to kiss. It felt so real, and bringing her hand down from knocking, she could still feel the sensation of soft lips, plump lips on her own. Then they were pulling back and just as the captain’s door began to open, she saw the woman’s face. It was Lena and she felt a rush through her body, through her abdomen and chest unlike anything she’d ever felt in her life, and it left her breathless.

“Danvers?” she heard her name being said, but couldn’t move past the realisation that she, again, had just been woken from one of the best sleeps that she had experienced in a long time, and it was due to Lena; the image and softness of Lena. “Kara, are you alright?” and then there was a hand on her arm, and she snapped her eyes up to see J’onzz standing before her.

“Captain,” she breathed.

“You don’t look too well, Kara. Step inside; Alex already brought me the rum.” Kara stepped in at request and crossed to the chair opposite J’onzz’s. She took a seat and rubbed at her forehead before a glass of rum was being pushed in front of her. She looked up and, seeing J’onzz’s slight concern, took the glass and drank it all.

“I’m sorry,” she fumbled.

“A dream that didn’t end well?” he asked, knowing that she had been sleeping for the last few hours.

“I’m not sure...” she answered honestly. Another moment of trying to move past it, and finally shaking her head until it was thrown from her mind. “But that’s not why I am here.”

“Indeed. I’m sure your sister told you that we will be docking soon enough, and so we don’t have much time.”

“I shall get straight to it then: I was at the tavern collecting rum and Mayor Luthor was there to meet with the heads of business in Port Nationale, which didn’t immediately strike me as odd until...”

“Until...” J’onzz echoed for her to continue.

“Ms Grant told me in the utmost of secrecy that Luthor,” it sounded foreign in her head to be referring to Lena as such, “will be intending to take sole power of the port. It seems that she does not want to be associated with pirates when it comes to business.” The look of J’onzz was calm and brewing, a storm in motion, but he nodded for her to keep going, and so she did. “L... Luthor made no mention of this to me when I welcomed her, so I assume if this is true that she would be intending on bringing it to your attention when she comes to Deo.”

“I see,” J’onzz spoke quietly, bringing his hand to his chin as he leaned back in his chair, creaking beneath him. A long silence ensued, and while eye contact was maintained, Kara knew that J’onzz had retreated into his mind to think, and so she stayed quiet, not even moving a finger from its tight grip on her thigh. “I see,” he repeated. “We, Deo, had difficulty with the governor before Cat-“

“Sorry, why wasn’t Ms Grant granted the title of governor, if her predecessor was?” Kara asked, slightly annoyed. Of course, she hadn’t meant to butt in on J’onzz’s sentence, but she had already asked, so why not wait for an answer.

“Because...” he began, looking at her in earnest; she could foresee what the end of that explanation would be.

“She’s a woman. Why are men so threatened by women in positions of power?”

“Logically, there is no answer. Mayor is still a title that grants her power, and I personally feel that it is suited better, for the leader before her was very loyal to the crown. Cat... less so.”

“Governor sounding too in favour...”

“Yes.” Kara sighed in understanding, and mild acceptance and nodded her apology to J’onzz for side-tracking their conversation. “As I was saying, he caused us difficulty because he was so closely tied to the crown. Ms Luthor’s seeming aversion in being connected to us, pirates, confuses me, I must say, because the Luthors have been quite uninterested in being linked to England.”

“Perhaps she thinks differently than her family?” she asked, and knew that it was true, but not for that fact. Lena was kind and smart and would never be influenced by greed or the lure of corruption, however, she may have ideals of an English governed Port Nationale. “What do you think this means for Deo, though?”

“It would be irrational to make any assumptions at this point, before even speaking to her and hearing these points from her own mouth, so I will simply say that I am aware and cautious, but in no way ready to draw the line between ourselves and the mayoral office.”

“Okay,” she said, taking it all in.

“Do not think that I am unappreciative of this forewarning, though, Kara,” her captain said with a smile.

“You’re welcome,” she said, standing up to leave, to which J’onzz mirrored a moment after. She paused her action as he held out his hand, gesturing again to the chair across from him.

“Have a drink before you leave, please? I may have a proposition for you.” She hesitated before sitting again, accepting the freshly poured glass of rum that was returned her way.

“What do you need me to do?” she asked, her _messenger_ role becoming present.

“Until, and most likely after, I know what Mayor Luthor’s intentions are, I would like you to keep her in your sights, and report any movements on her part that may cause us any amount of trouble. Can you do that?”

Kara knew that this would include visits and the extension of their friendship on behalf of Deo’s best interests, but she also couldn’t help but feel excited at the prospect of such a duty being _her_ focus. She would very much like to see Lena as often as possible, to get to know her and how she operates; it just so happened that J’onzz was asking her to do all of that under a guise in benefit of Deo’s future. An anticipating hint of a grin crept across her lips as she prepared to answer, looking to J’onzz as if she were ready to do what was needed for her ship, but was simply planning to do what he had already asked. “I can.”

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this so far... the plot is moving along and idk I was getting excited as I wrote it :P lemme know if you're getting keen as well xo


	5. CHAPTER FIVE

She had been made aware of the fact as soon as she had been able to talk, it seemed. Her voice must be demure, and sweet. She mustn’t raise or alter her tone to gain attention, instead simply relying on her presence to warrant it. She was a lady of the house of Luthor; a lady and a woman, even before she even knew what that meant. Lena had grown into a world shaped for men and had to preen herself to simply be the decorations of it. She was only ever present to create conversation for her beloved father or rivalled brother. “What a beautiful young lady,” they would say, and her father would beam whilst Alexander scuffed his feet and nodded, before dragging the conversation back to himself or any number of his great achievements.

So, whilst Lena stood, the pinnacle of perfection and beauty, her posture impeccable and her hair as gorgeous and mysterious as she needed to be, she felt lost and invisible within herself. She had no idea, no clue, or even desire to know, who she was in relation to herself alone; she was a trophy to her father, and a shadow for her brother, a burden for her mother, but never anything for herself. She knew languages and the histories of many countries, and how to wonder the men that would be invited to their family parties, but as soon as Lex stepped foot in the ballroom, she was politely tossed aside; she was never enough.

Her mother, Lillian, made sure to remind her of the fact whenever she saw a hint of misery on the young woman’s face. She should be honoured to be a Luthor, should be nothing but proud of her brother, to mention him in all conversations for he would surely surpass their dreams for him and create new goals to reach, never faulting. She was proud, because she had to be, and she mentioned him in most discussions, because she didn’t know enough of herself to boast about. She learnt this language, because Lex was busy and needed a translator. She knew of this company’s wealth, because she had had it waved in her face at Lex’s galas.

Lena Luthor was intelligent beyond her years, and her name, gorgeous, competent, intuitive and strong, but it was all eclipsed so often by everyone else in her family. Her first love saw differently, however, for he was so much like Lena, it seemed, that she felt visible again. Jack Spheer was a mirror for her to see herself in. His father knew Lionel Luthor through business affairs, and so Jack was welcomed to the family as an extension, in some ways. Lena’s mother, of course, didn’t trust nor like him, but that was a common staple of her personality.

With Lena’s existence in the background, never entirely focussed on – because how could she possibly step out of line or get up to mischief? – she would be granted the opportunity to befriend Jack, and through a natural progression of their friendship, they grew to love each other. Lena was only a teenager when Jack first kissed her, and whilst she felt a shock of exhilaration run through her, it wasn’t at all like the romance novels had made it out to be. It wasn’t the perfection and slotting together like puzzle pieces that she had hoped it would be. She had no other reference, though, and so took it for how it was, thinking that the fault simply lay in her.

They spent most of their time together, Lena and Jack, and whilst her family were less than pleased, but had no logical warrant to be adamantly against it, they took it for the safe distraction it presented for Lena, and let it be. She could hardly grow miserable or empowered to follow in Lex’s footsteps if she was preoccupied with love. Jack knew, however, of Lena’s brilliance and strength and told her that if she ever had the chance, the moment where their guards were down, she should take the Luthor name for herself, the company and power, because she could manage it and work it better than the men in her family ever could. She had brushed it off, but always kept it in mind.

Jack was the first to make her feel as if she mattered and could do something with her existence. That her blood and bones held something more than what to sustain life with. They held life in them; a life that she should live. His belief in her and constancy in life made her feel a love for him that, while still not quite matching the books, was something strong and comforting nonetheless.

For her sixteenth birthday, she was to be presented to the notable people of New York, the metropolis of her family’s business empire, and would step out with Jack on her arm. The natural progression of things now, whilst still hoping for their love to continue, would dictate that she stay with him until her dying day; would step out a couple, courting and in love, and then marry and continue the Luthor and Spheer bloodlines.

This was the one night, in her whole life it seemed, that the focus would be on her, and she would be granted the pleasures of being a Luthor that was simply granted to Lex when she was born. Whilst she was excited, it still felt as if she had been working and existing for sixteen years to get this night. Jack was excited for her and would sit in her room with her whilst she would go through materials that her specially designed gown would be made from, complimenting how that colour contrasted her bright eyes, or how it framed so well against her pearly skin. He was her best friend.

The day that she went to the fitter to first try her dress on, and see the colours against her skin, Jack fell ill, but made sure that he was well enough to sit outside and see her. He had helped her decide on a simple design for her dress, with elegance and grace that would make her stand out among the crowd, whilst also pleasing her family in its decorum. Once she was dressed, corset pulled tighter than she thought she could manage, she stepped outside the curtain and saw Jack’s smile, and it was easier to breathe again. He looked so tired and drained of energy, but his smile still lit up the room and she was glad that he was able to see it, at least once.

He was then taken home and she had to stand painfully for the time that it took to take alterations, and that was when it changed. The seamstress could sense that Lena was worried about Jack, and took her time to calm the young woman who was itching to get out of her dress. “You look most beautiful, miss. I’m sure it was a sight that he will never forget.” Lena smiled and told herself that she would be able to be by Jack’s bedside soon enough, his illness growing stronger with each passing hour.

For that next hour, however, she was to play model for herself in that dress. She took comfort in that the colours were of Jack’s choosing as well, and watched as the other woman’s hands played around at the seams and stitching. She was gentle and sweet with Lena, raising her arm carefully as if she were afraid to break her, and softly placing her hands to the edge of her neckline when she needed to see how it sat on her.

Lena soon found that Jack wasn’t as much a burning thought in her mind, her eyes too heavily distracted by the woman pacing around her. Her breath stole in her chest when the other woman leaned in over her shoulder to quickly check the stitching at her front, and for the first time in her life, the young Luthor felt goosebumps arise at another person’s touch when the seamstress caressed her shoulders to draw her hair to the side.

She was but sixteen, and this woman was at least a decade older, and married, but the rush that Lena felt through her body was so alike the ones described in the novels she would lose herself in that she knew something had changed, or been awoken. Jack made her happy, and felt loved, but this was a different sensation in her body, and not just her skin, altogether. She felt alive, her breath felt heavy, her skin cold yet flushed at the same time. Lena felt a passion run through her and settle in certain places that told her that this was different.

She also knew that this was a different that she had never heard of, and therefore knew it to be taboo. This woman that was caressing her body and being gentle and sweet with her was gorgeous in her own right, in her own way. She didn’t sparkle like Lena was always told to, but had a warmth to her in the way her hair began to fall out, and how her cheeks were pinkened by working and not by any dear French blush. She was taller than Lena as well, and so a subtle little smile down upon her set her heart racing the more she stared.

In the years that followed this hour, Lena would begin to realise that this passion had always been in her, but was waiting for the right time and circumstance to make itself known. Of course, after looking back on memories from her childhood and young adulthood, she recognised that the passion had made itself present many a time but she had simply been unsure how to have translated that to understand it. Those times where her nanny had tucked her in and winked to her from the doorway before closing the door; those times that Lex had brought a sweet young lady to a dinner but then proceeded to ignore her, and so Lena had spent the evening chatting with her; those outings to museums or galleries and being lost in the shaping and details of marble sculptures of women.

Lena realised that she had always been attracted to women, and that it was something stronger and _more_ in every sense of the word than anything Jack could offer, but yet she loved him.

Not even that unyielding love could keep him forever, though, and a week after her sixteenth birthday, Jack passed in his bed with Lena by her side. He had contracted a possessing flu and was too far gone before anyone knew. The cold temperatures only worsened it, and Lena found herself cursing New York for its too frequent freezings-over.

Jack was her first love, for he was the first person that Lena truly cared for and felt it in her heart and mind. His words echoed in her life for months to come, years to come, growing louder with every anniversary that she would visit his grave, covered in snow and the engravings filled up with ice. Her breath would cloud in front of her, and she would take it as a reminder from him that she was still alive, and could not let go. She would not let go, or give up, and would wait for the opportunity, just like Jack had always said was coming her way, where she could take the Luthor name for herself and make a life for herself that she was proud of and powerful in.

Her family understood that she must grieve, and be allowed to, for Jack was there for her when they admittedly were not. He was her friend, her companion, and they thought, her true love. Luck would have it that they would be together forever, bringing the Luthor and Spheer families great fortune and achievements, but luck ran out unfortunately. Jack’s father kept in touch with Lena for many years before moving to the other side of the country and dying shortly after. She felt cut off from anything that ever made her happy, but then when she was twenty, she began to take her happiness back again.

Lex was often overwhelmed with meetings and clients to entertain, and so Lena would step into that role. She would take these men for drinks or a dinner to briefly discuss the business so that they were not simply told to sit and wait for Lex to get around to them. On occasion, however, these clients were women; the representative for their father or the new head of the business when their father passed away. Lena would eagerly wait for these people of importance that she was to entertain for an evening to be women, and while they were few and far between, they were always a joy.

More often than not, these women had husbands or were simply immune to Lena’s lingering stare, but in the summer of her twenty-first birthday, a woman was sent to Lena’s table for one of these client dinners, and she was gorgeous. Lena had to think twice as hard, it seemed, before forming a sentence in front of this woman, even when it was the same advanced yet mundane words that Lena was exposed to and spoke of on a daily basis.

She was mesmerising, and after a light dinner and perhaps one too many drinks, Lena was unabashedly staring at this woman as she spoke. Apparently, her so-focussed attention on the woman was endearing, cute even, and when the night was usually to wrap up, this woman suggested that they slip over to one of the usually occupied gentleman’s clubs, so that they could sit in a quiet corner booth and talk about themselves instead of business. Lena followed eagerly and although she could barely remember a thing about this woman the next day, her mind being too fuzzy, she still stored it in her memory as one of the best nights of her life.

She wasn’t entirely sure how the evening played out after they had spent time at that club, for more alcohol was consumed and the lights were dim, but Lena was sure of one moment. After replaying it through her mind for the rest of that evening and every day that followed for a very long time, she knew that it was remembered, that it was another first.

The woman had edged closer after returning from the ladies’ room, seating herself closer to Lena so that their thighs were touching through the cotton and lace of their dresses. The night was late, the club emptying, and no one in the vicinity, so Lena felt safer, and she was sure it also granted the other woman the opportunity to lean in even more. Their lips brushed against each other daringly, the hint of each other’s drinks still lingering there, before they pushed further for a better taste. The deftness of the other woman’s lips against hers was more intoxicating than either Jack had ever tried it to be, or the alcohol in her system.

She moaned as her lip was bitten and her thigh squeezed, and when it was growing hard to breathe, they parted slowly, regrettably and they could finally hear the club winding down. Without another safe and secluded place to retreat to, the evening was unfortunately over, but not entirely, for it always lived on in Lena’s mind. She assumed that the woman’s meeting didn’t go as hoped, for their paths never crossed again, and many years later, Lena still couldn’t quite remember the woman’s name... Veronica, perhaps. Just the same, it meant something incredible to Lena, and in her heart, she felt that Jack would be happy for her, and accepting of her.

When her father fell ill not even a year after that evening, he had said to Lena in one of their alone times that he was glad to see that she had a hint of joy in her eyes, even if she wasn’t as happy as she was when she was a child. Not wanting to break his heart, she didn’t tell him that she was simply a better pretender of her feelings when she was young. She also couldn’t tell him that her joy came from a woman and in _that_ capacity, and so simply put it down to moving on from Jack – which was partly true. There were times where she felt so low that she imagined her only joy ever came from Jack’s presence in her life, but then she would hear his words and know that he was but a small part. Just like her father.

He was always kinder to her than Lillian, ever had been. Lena was still his sweet little genius, even when she rarely got the chance to prove it, and so when he passed, her heart broke all over again. Lex took their father’s death equally as hard, yet had a less than ideal way of coping with it. He took more risks with the family business and became business partners with men whose money was already tainted.

Lena tried to advise him, warn him of the path he was on and where it tragically might lead, but he, as it had forever been, brushed her off and did precisely the opposite of what she wished, and with more enraged passion than was good. His vision and dreams became blackened clouds, fuelled by greed and a poor sense of pride. Ultimately, it all blew up in his face and the business began suffering. His attempts to fix it only dug him a deeper grave; even Lillian’s pleas fell on deaf ears. Lex’s self-importance, built up so from years of being the golden child that could do no wrong, held him in an impossible position to ask for or accept help, and so he floundered.

His dealings ultimately led him to being arrested, and while Lillian grieved silently the loss of her son’s future, Lena stepped in to fix the mess. She was glad to be taking control, but still wished that it had been under different circumstances. She never wanted her brother to suffer for her to succeed. She only wanted to be equal and accepted as a part of the family that she was so frequently reminded that she was part of, but oddly was never included in. She was a Luthor, but not the right one.

Nevertheless, she pressed forward and saved the family business. She worked hard for many a sleepless month to bring it back to even a fraction of the standing that it once housed. Soon, it gained its reputation back, but not fast enough. Transitioning, and renaming the corporation L-Corp, she took the CEO position officially and brought it back to the once good name it was known as. Lillian was thankful, in her own way, and decided that after enough work, it was time for Lena to step down again.

She took over the business, with some of the old partners, and now told Lena that it was time for her to settle down. She was twenty-four and was practically being ordered by her mother to marry. Many suitors were sent her way, but she closed the door on all of them. With each new man that came calling, she reached out more with research and listening to the news from far off lands, and when Lillian eventually snapped, telling Lena that she was a disappointment to the family name, that usual snarl in her tone, Lena left.

Her father had left her some money, as had Jack, if only enough to buy a nice dress, and with her earnings as L-Corp CEO for even the short time it had been, she knew that she had enough to pick up and go with no regrets. Travel took her across to America’s west coast where she enjoyed the sun, imagining Jack was there with her, but soon she wanted to move on again, and travelled across the country again, but south to the sun.

A month or two passed and she heard of the piracy trade, and of the islands and ports they called home. In passing, a grisly old man made a snide comment to her of how she would be ravaged there. Far too sick of men telling her what to do and how to be, she read into it more, asking the sailors and Englishmen who ventured back from those places. On occasion, she would hear of the ‘god ship’, unsure of what they were truly speaking of, but enthralled nonetheless. One evening at a sweaty and dry tavern, she overheard a conversation between, what she assumed to be, two pirates themselves. Sailors, they called themselves, but Lena could tell a lie when she heard one.

This ‘god ship’ ran the seas in a most chivalrous manner, she discovered; a fair captain, a partnership with the leaders on land, and wealth that could carry each of their forty sailors for at least two years. It was an interesting tale, she deduced, moving on in her aimless travels, but each port she ventured to on the north of the gulf lead her ears to be hearing of that ‘god ship’ again. Taking the frequency of its mention as a challenge, she boarded a boat heading south into those god-ship-claimed oceans to find it.

Deo, she learned, Latin for God, docked at Port Nationale and called it home, and so she made that her goal. When she arrived in the port, this Deo was out to sea and she smiled at its mystery, forever preceding it. She stayed at the local tavern for a night or two, and incidentally got into conversation with the mayor one evening. They had many a thing in common, Cat and her, with their taking over of businesses and desire to do good and be responsibly powerful. She also got a hint of that woman from years ago that she first kissed; something similar in the way they presented themselves and spoke to other women, gentle, commanding of attention in an almost seductive way.

She heard at least six times in the two days she knew Cat, that she wished to step down from being mayor soon, to dive into different waters, and so Lena took it as a sign. In a wishful conversation she had once had with Jack, she spat out the frivolous idea of maybe being mayor or simply having some charge of a small far-off town somewhere. With Cat’s words reaching her ears, she felt as if it was a nudge from Jack as well. _Take this chance_ , she could hear him say. _Rule this town and find a lady pirate to love_. She laughed, but presented the idea to Cat, and it all fell into place rather quickly.

She had had no contact with her family, and did not intend to, and was down into the land of pirates within months, now stepping into the role of mayor of one of those towns so tightly claimed by said pirates. Lena was scared and unsure, but realised that that had never stopped her, and she wasn’t about to let it now. Hearing only scathing things of the pirates, and the infamous Deo, she thought that she should be bold and sever the partnership ties as soon as she could. They were relatively bad news, and having seen what those sorts of characters did to her brother and the Luthor business, she was empowered to rid it of such a possibly dangerous influence.

But then she met her. Lucy had knocked on her door, popping her head in to tell her of a visitor wanting to speak to her; a member of Deo, and her heart was sent racing. She steadied herself, expecting to be faced with a burly man, as many tattoos riddling his body as scars, and the sun casting freckles across his face until his beard took over. She took a deep breath, opened the door, and could practically feel her knees buckle under her. She shifted her weight to cover her, what could only be described as, swoon, and held onto the door.

The tall blonde stalked over to her, hand on sword and smirk on her face, and Lena could feel her heart explode in her chest. It was beating and humming at the same time, and she did all she could to seem unaffected as she held her hand out to shake the other _woman_ ’s. They chatted, and Lena gladly mirrored the pirate’s seated position, slouching a little after years of having a perfect posture and sitting only on the edge few inches of her seat. Regrettably, she remembered that she had a lunch meeting to get to, and that Cat would be helping her transition some more into mayoral life, so she had to end this soon.

She knew that she still had at least another half an hour until she was to be at the tavern, but also knew from experience that she would take a while to calm herself and move on from another woman’s presence and stare in her direction; last time this had happened, it took her months to move on properly. She ran into the pirate again at the tavern, and was therefore distracted for the first half of her meeting, and then again that evening when the night air was already thick enough.

They sat and talked again, digging a little deeper through each other’s walls whilst getting a little fuzzy from the rum, and Lena had flashbacks. Her naked body under her robe, and the other woman’s calming and welcome presence, the softness of her hand, had Lena’s heart pounding in her body again and her thighs pressing together, screaming to be squeezed and pushed apart. She had only been kissed by a woman once, and it was more than enough to impact the rest of her life, she realised, more than any touch from a man ever could.

Kara left to return to Deo, to the seas, and her smile was imprinted in Lena’s mind, would caress her dreams as softly as that seamstress’s hands, and as deftly as that client’s lips in the club. When Lena awoke the next morning and walked to her window, daringly almost naked, and looked out to the absence of Deo’s sails, she felt an odd emptiness in her heart; one that she hadn’t felt since Jack had died, and she thought that maybe she was meant to be in Port Nationale, that this was her path, that this was right.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all are enjoying so far! hmu if you have questions or just wanna talk xo


	6. CHAPTER SIX

For all that Lena felt a slight absence in not seeing Kara for a week, she by all means had many another pirate wandering around her port that she must keep an eye on. She also had more than enough settling in and introducing herself to do for her to dwell too long on the vacancy at the docks. After she woke on that first morning, noting that Deo had left for sea, she saw the flip side of that fact in which she had other ships and crews to meet. None, of course, had the prestige and social standing in Port Nationale as Deo did, but Cat had told her that more than a few of them were, what was considered, regulars to this part of the Caribbean. She also had a fair amount of reading to do, what with old papers and the books that Cat would keep a record of to catch herself up on.

The old mayor was fair and lenient when she needed to be, but was still a stickler for the rules and relevant laws that came with running a port. This virtue that she made very clear was what had drawn J’onzz’s first attention, she had told Lena. Lena saw there as being no other way one should run a port, or town, ship, or business; stern but fair. She was nervous as to her next conversation that she was to have with Cat, but that was not for another two days as to let her get a feel for the port on her own. She was nervous because she believed rather firmly that there shouldn’t be shared power of a town. There should be one person whose word goes and no opportunity or wiggle room available for another power-holder to disagree or prove difficult.

Lena had brought this point to Cat’s, as well as the other delegates of the port’s, attention in earlier conversations that were to cement her standing and understanding of the future running of Port Nationale. She had assumed in that moment where Kara and Cat proved to be friendly at the tavern, that such a point was possibly passed along, and that Kara would dutifully be making the captain of Deo aware as well. She thought this would lead to a perhaps not-so-pleasant altercation or first meeting for her and Captain J’onzz before they left dock, and yet no such instance occurred.

She was surprised, but also thought that perhaps Kara hadn’t told him, or hadn’t at that point in time, to which she was appreciative, and touched. Was it Kara thinking pragmatically about passing on her intentions, or had she kept it to herself out of her liking to Lena, regardless of Deo’s existence and involvement, Lena was not sure. What Cat had told her of Deo and its more famous members hinted that it was the former, although a small part of her still hoped for the latter.

Despite the warmness that Kara’s presence and existence brought to Lena, she was firm in her belief that power of the port should be a solo endeavour. This did not mean that she wouldn’t consult Deo or other powers in the town should she need to, or it be warranted, but for now, with no solid bind of trust being formed between any of them with Lena, she wanted to play it safe. For the next week, until Deo or Kara were back immediately in her life, she needed to be practical and smart, not allowing affections for any person to cloud that.

As she closed the blinds and stepped back into her room, she tied her robe more securely around her, deciding to head down and start her day as she was. Lena walked to her door and slipped her right foot into the pair of slippers she had there, but on second thought, opened the door and exited without them. It was a warm day already, and no doubt a cup of hot tea with her breakfast would only make her body feel like it was on fire even more.

The wooden stairs, only ever shroud in shadows and moonlight were cool under her feet and she could feel a chill run up her spine at first touch. Folding her arms around her waist, she continued her descent of the few steps to the small landing that diverged two ways: down the main flight of stairs to her office and front room where Lucy would work, or through a door that lead to a small dining and kitchen area.

She knew that it was an old building, her new home, but found it a joy that the kitchen was not on the ground floor. She supposed that it had been a practical decision for the governors and mayors of Port Nationale in the first beginnings to separate the work and living quarters cleanly. She had originally thought that she would have to pass through her office to reach the kitchen, and would hardly want to do as such in her robes, and so the discovery was a pleasant surprise.

Lucy had also told her that in the past, the mayor’s building had been much larger, with a proper sitting room and more bedrooms towards the rear of the building, but the governor before Cat had sold that section and it was now a sort of retirement home for older sailors who could not afford a house of their own. And so now, the mayor’s building had but the office and entrance room on the first floor, with the kitchen and dining room on the floor above, and one of the smaller bedrooms from before that was at the front of the house becoming the sole bedroom for the mayor.

That suited Lena quite well, for she did not really want to be owner to many extra rooms that she would never use when others could be. She supposed that the governor had thought as much when he moved in, and decided to make use of them in another form. The doorways that joined the, essentially two, buildings had long been bricked up, but Lena felt in herself that they were still the same building, and so she would do her best to check in and help with the running of it when she could.

She wasn’t feeling too hungry, deciding to pick up a banana from the small fruit bowl on her table as she headed to brew a pot of tea. She would have one now, and then another after dressing for the day on her way down to the office. Lucy would probably enjoy a cup of tea to start her day as well, and so Lena accounted for that as she filled the pot. A small fire in the fireplace would be enough to boil it, she discovered, and so she sat to eat her banana as she waited for her teapot to whistle over.

She hated to admit it to people, but unfortunately had to on her first morning to Lucy: she had never cooked herself anything or even brewed her own pot of tea. Her family home in New York had servants, and Lillian always seemed to be wanting to make everyone tea, so Lena had never needed to. The other woman was kind enough to show her and offer assistance when it came to making meals for herself; Lena thought she would see how she faired before asking for more help on that account. She understood that many meals she was used to in her old life would be hard to come by or afford in these parts of the world, and so she began making a mental list as to what she could feed herself with. Now that it was her second week in Port Nationale, she was confident of what she could sustain herself on, and also what dinners the tavern offered should she be feeling the need for change.

Stepping foot into Port Nationale was her feeling the need for change in every essence of the word for her life, she realised. She could’ve so easily, and apathetically, stayed in New York to be married off to some gentleman who would run her life for her; she might perhaps take up needlepoint to pass her hours.

As she opened the files and documents of Cat’s old desk, her desk, to start her working day, she came to see the copious amounts of paper, and decided that she would rather gladly pass her hours with them instead. These lists and records of the towns history may have appeared boring or tedious to another, but Lena knew that they held the first steps, the key to her future ability in running Port Nationale. She was the mayor of a town and without much experience to speak of or present in a resume of sorts; Lena was mayor and if she was the only one who knew that she could do it, then that was enough for her.

Her hours would also be spent entertained by the piracy that subtly took place under her watch, and when she thought of how disgusted that fact would make Lillian, it resulted in a devious grin spreading across her face. That grin changed again, softened, when she thought of the particular pirate whose movements would entertain her greatly, but then she shook her head to focus on work, and the clicking open of her door broke the thought entirely. Lucy stepped in, a little later in the day than usual, and apologised as she made her way over to Lena’s desk with a few papers to look over. “I’m so sorry, Miss Luthor,” she fumbled.

“It’s quite alright, Lucy. Nothing too demanding happening here today,” she said with an air in her voice that tried to ease Lucy’s worry, but the other woman’s slight frown remained. “Is everything alright with you though?”

“Oh, yes,” Lucy answered, mustering as good a smile as she could.

“Well, if you’re sure...” to which Lucy nodded. “Do let me know if there is anything I can help you with.”

“I will remember to do so,” Lucy said with a nod of her head.

“There’s a pot of tea upstairs should you need a cup before starting the day, as well,” Lena nodded in return, keen to start an amiable work friendship with the other woman. Lucy smiled, as if that offer for tea was the best part of her day so far, before turning to head back to her desk outside. Lena watched as she left, closing the door quietly behind her, and then turned back to her papers. She was going over costs and taxes associated with the ships in dock. They were all kept meticulously, right down to how Deo never paid any, she noticed. It took her over an hour, but once she’d gone through all of them, she had a separate page full of all the instances and dates that Deo forgave paying any taxes, despite being in dock for sometimes over two weeks.

She filed that page away in her desk as she filed away the other papers, keeping it under wraps until her luncheon meeting with Cat later that week. She would bring this up when it came to discussing shared power of the port; she was sure the former mayor had a solid reason for allowing Deo to go without paying any taxes on their ship, but wanted to leave no stone unturned in regards to how things were to be effectively handled in her taking over of the mayoral position. Lena could easily see that Cat ran a tight ship, so to speak, and that the port, more or less, thrived under her command, so Deo’s neglect or dismissal of paying taxes was hardly an issue when it came to money. Nevertheless, Lena was unsure if she wanted to be seen as playing into any game of favouritism with the pirate crews that called Port Nationale home.

These were but a few of the points that she wanted to bring up with Cat so that she could fully understand how things were and should be. She remembered when she had stepped into the role of CEO at the family business, and while it took her considerably less time to wrap her head around the goings-on of the business and its transactions, she still sat down with whomever she could so that she could see the whole picture on as large and intricate a scale.

For her first day in Port Nationale, however, she was to be stuck at her desk reading. Soon, it seemed, yet also felt like far too long, the day was drawing to an end and she had only had a simple sandwich for lunch. She had forgotten to drink water, and so Lucy was kind enough to replenish her glass whenever she came in, but with the beginning of the sun setting, her office began to grow darker and her eyes strained. She told herself to finish this last document, only a few more lines, and when she was done, she pushed the pages away from her.

Lena leaned back in her chair and felt the twinge of her back spasming from being frozen in the same position for hours. It was a sharp press into the muscles along her spine from her hips up to under her ribs, forcing her to take a strained breath and sit up again. That alone was enough to tell her to stop for the day, that she had accomplished more than she had hoped to, and that what she needed now was a good meal and water.

She looked up at the tall clock in the corner of the room, remembering how Kara had looked at it the night before, the moon cast across her skin, and saw that it was far later than she had thought. Lucy had bid her leave not long after four o’clock, staying later than she usually would as she wouldn’t be coming tomorrow for personal reasons. Lena had only intended to work for another hour, at most, but her worker’s mind had switched on, her eyes latching onto the words on the page and she continued to read. Her look over to the grand old clock showed that it was after six.

She calmly stood, not wanting to test her tired back any more than she already had without meaning to, and filed away what she had finished that day. She closed the windows across from her desk, feeling the dull tang of humidity and still warmth of the room as soon as fresh air was constricted from it, before stepping out of her office and closing the door behind her.

Compared to yesterday, the eve was feeling the slightest bit cooler, more tolerable, and so she could afford to venture to the tavern for dinner in the dress she was already wearing, in lieu of changing into one of a lighter material with shorter sleeves. Of the dresses she had kept with her upon leaving New York, the one she had worn that day was perhaps her favourite; the one she had been wearing the day of her dress fitting when she was sixteen. She never got rid of it, or had it resized, wanting it to be just as for sentimental purposes. After travelling the country, and not being exposed to the finer diet of her past, she found herself slimming down and on the night before she left for the pirate islands, she tried that dress on again. For the first time in more than a few years, it fit on her as comfortably as it had years ago, and it brought another sense of _right_ to what she was making of her life.

She had worn it again on her first day as mayor, needing a sort of holding hand to help her feel as if she would be fine to muddle through. With Kara’s presence oddly sparking another essence of Jack’s memory, she felt the desire to wear the dress again after the blonde was gone. With fine white detailing and edging, that and Lena’s skin contrasted the deep mauve of the dress beautifully. After years of owning it, the dress wasn’t as rich in every crisp aspect that it once was, but it was hardly how it looked on her that was the reason for Lena keeping it so close to her and her heart.

Stepping out into the dry streets of Port Nationale, Lena was pleasantly surprised to be greeted immediately by some residents of the town. She had not met them yet, and they were merely passing on their own evening walk, but they obviously knew who she was, and were being kind and welcoming citizens. Such a small act, and Lena was touched, feeling a little dumbfounded and embarrassed at how she only smiled and blinked widely at them. She had met people in Port Nationale, of course, but not any of the ordinary citizens that made up the port at all.

She had also surmised that perhaps first impressions would be slightly negative towards her, especially as she was essentially buying Cat out, but also should anyone have heard of her brother’s misfortunes and failures. Luckily, people were either completely unaware, or willing to offer her a fresh start of her own, with lack of judgement. All she had ever wanted was to make a name for herself outside of what her family already dictated she be; she was astonished that she had to travel across the world, it seemed, to obtain that way of thinking.

The evening air, though cooler, was still thick on her skin, and she could feel the first trickles of sweat edge down the back of her neck as she walked. As each step jerked them further down her skin, the loose tendrils of hair that fell after her long and mentally tiring day clung with them against her. As she stepped to the front door of the tavern, she quickly swept her hand from the back of her dress’s neckline up to her hairline, brushing those hairs back into place of her bun, if only for another half hour. She may have felt drained and solely in need of a cooling glass of water to go with her meal, but Lena had to keep up appearances. Her whole life had taught her as much.

She walked in, past tables of swooning sailors who were promptly smacked across the shoulder in remembrance of Kara’s comment the day before, and over to the bar where Cat was waiting on thirsty patrons. When she turned to Lena, she shot a welcoming smile, but slipped away just as quickly, returning with a tall glass of water. “You look as if you could use this before anything else,” the former mayor remarked, having noticed Lena’s flushed skin.

“Do I really look that tired?” Lena asked, slouching only the slightest bit as she stepped close enough to the bar to lean on it momentarily.

“The heat, dear. I suppose – New York, was it? – hardly had a _warm_ day like those in the Caribbean.”

“No,” Lena said with a sigh, bringing her folded knuckles up to press at her cheek. She was warm. “They didn’t,” she finished reaching out for the glass of water. “It feels far too hot to even eat anything.” She hadn’t meant for her remark to come out as a strained whine, but as she began to sip at the cool water, it became apparent to her that she had been so buried in her work that she hadn’t accounted for how poorly her body was adapting to the heat. She could deal with frosts and cold that lasted for months quite well; many memories of her childhood were of playing in the snow with Lex. The stifling heat, however, was something that she had never had to bear.

“Perhaps a salad would suit you well this evening,” Cat said, walking down the bar and beckoning Lena to follow. Picking up her glass, she obliged, following in the other woman’s footsteps and trying her hardest to not feel the stuffiness of the establishment the further away from the door she ventured. Pushing through a buffering door after Cat, Lena was suddenly met with a much cooler, yet oddly more steam filled room. “Follow,” Cat ordered, leading the brunette to a table at the back of the kitchen by a large window.

“I can eat out in the tavern,” Lena insisted as Cat turned her by the shoulders and sat her on a sea-mist-weathered chair.

“Don’t be silly; get to know James,” she looked up to a burly bald man with the biggest grin she had ever seen. “And you’ve met Maggie,” Cat gestured to the barmaid as she ducked around James, stealing a stick of carrot and wedging it in between her own rather large grinning teeth before pushing back through the door to the tavern. “M’Gann has the evening off, so it is just the three of us, but I am more than sure that we can entertain you, Madam Mayor, and distract you from the heat.” With that and a smile, Cat moved off to busy herself around the kitchen, putting together a basic, yet wholesome salad from Lena.

She smiled as she watched, for Lena had never really felt this looked after before. Of course, her mother did when she was a child, and the household’s servants tended to her when it came to meals and education, but she had never been told by someone to sit and relax while that someone took it upon themselves to do something kind for her. She knew that she would still be paying for the meal, and so essentially it wasn’t a favour or a gift, but the intention and budding friendship behind it made it feel as so.

“Do you want this extra fish?” James asked aside to Cat as she shuffled around him. She nodded at him and then to Lena, and so he turned waiting for the brunette’s answer.

“Yes, please,” she nodded, and watched as he smiled back before slicing up the cooked, yet cooled fish and picking it up between his fingertips and the blade of his knife to transfer into the bowl of salad that Cat was preparing. From across the room, she could see that, so far, her salad consisted of the fish, lettuce, tomatoes and beans of some sort. Cat was also slicing something else up on the far-wall counter and so she couldn’t quite see what it was. Soon, she turned and delicately sprinkled finely diced chunks of pineapple over the top of the salad, and then brought the plate over to Lena. “Pineapple?”

“Makes you enjoy the heat, just to taste its sweetness,” Cat said with a wink.

“She likes to make it sound as if she discovered the fruit, and yet...” James began, looking over at Cat amusedly.

“James introduced the idea to me in one of the first dinners he made for me in Port Nationale.”

“When was that?” Lena asked, picking up her fork and digging it through her salad to create a forkful of all the ingredients in her bowl.

“About four years ago,” James answered, turning back to the kitchen bench. “Every year since has been just as warm, but I will always know what the hotter days are, by other people’s reckoning, because this one,” he turned to point his knife at Cat, “will walk in and ask for my pineapple salad.”

“He makes it sound so poignant,” Cat laughed. “I ask for the pineapple salad every two weeks, it seems.”

James turned and shrugged nonchalantly. “We get a lot of hot days.” He smiled again, that wide and joyous grin that made Lena feel just as good inside as that smile made James look, and turned back to his cooking.

“I tell you what else is good relief for days such as these,” Cat began, stepping back over to Lena’s table with a jug to refill her glass of water. She reached her hand up to her forehead and wiped away the glisten of sweat that sat at her hairline before continuing. “A swim in the ocean.”

“I don’t have anything to wear that is suitable for swimming in,” Lena stated, then took a bite of her salad.

“You don’t need to wear anything, dear Lena,” Cat hushed as she stepped backward to the door, maintaining eye contact cheekily. She smiled that little bit wider as she turned to walk back out to the tavern, laughing a little as Lena chocked on her pineapple.

~ ~ ~ ~

After her meal was long finished, and she was sat out again at the tavern bar, Lena noticed that meals for the evening were also finishing up in lieu of a simple glass of rum or beer. James was done in the kitchen and was now helping out behind the bar with Maggie, allowing Cat a short break. The former mayor rounded the bar and took up a position beside Lena, joining her in a glass of the burning liquid. “How are you doing, now?” she said before taking a sip.

“Cooler,” Lena answered. “Drunker.”

“Water for you now,” Cat ordered, raising her hand slightly for Maggie to bring a jug of water over. “Can’t have our mayor stumbling home in the dark.” Lena smiled, sleepily almost, although they both knew that it was just the blur of alcohol in her veins. “How is our mayor, by the way?”

“Drunk?” Lena asked back, raising her eyebrow, sure that they had just covered that point.

“I’m referring more towards any of those decisions you are planning to make,” Cat said, stifling a laugh. She was gradually getting the impression that Lena hadn’t been exposed to this much alcohol in one sitting very often in her life.

“I worry about shared power,” she admitted, looking painfully up at Cat. She saw the other woman take a hesitant breath and so continued. “But I also know that I barely know how to run a town, let alone one that has pirates calling it home. I intend to ask people when I need help. I intend to continue including Deo, especially, in my decisions when I deem it necessary.”

Cat was glad for the alcohol in Lena’s body, for it perhaps allowed her to speak more freely. “Good,” she said simply. “They are an important factor to how well this port fairs in the eyes of the world of piracy.”

“How so?” Lena asked, leaning in towards Cat a bit more, drunk, of course, but eager to learn more about Port Nationale.

“They hold power; notoriety, and as worrisome as that may sound,” she soothed, resting her hand atop Lena’s momentarily. “It is what I believe this town needs. No outside threat would dare cause us ill will whilst Deo calls it home.” Lena frowned a little in understanding, blinking as she looked off into the distance.

“So,” she licked her lips as she thought. “Are you saying that... For the benefit and safety of Port Nationale, I need to trust them?”

“I am saying, that until then, until that moment where you _do_ trust them – and believe me, it took me a while to find myself trusting them fully, you need to trust _in them_.” Cat watched as her words slowly made their way into Lena’s mind, settling gently, before the brunette took a deep breath. “You do not have to trust them with your life, or money, but do trust that they care for this dry and hot piece of land; they call it home and would protect it as best they could should the need arise.”

“I understand,” Lena mumbled, eyes fading out as she lost focus, retreating into her mind to think. She began to realise that she would need to set aside whatever prejudices may have rooted in her, even if only being there for not even a month. Kara was reason, and Cat had given her another, and so Lena decided that in the light of day – warm and sober day – she would need to go over that list of hers to reassess how harsh her wariness of Deo was to be.

~ ~ ~ ~

Waves were welcoming, Kara felt, with their gentle lapping and whispering across the sand echoing a mother’s arms, a friend’s embrace, a lover’s kiss. Weeks would pass at sea, like the last for her, and she would watch the crew crave for their return to Port Nationale’s shores. She always felt a sense of warmth in her when Deo docked and men and women of the crew were granted leave to shore, walking straight to the open arms that waited. Kara would smile, wave her friends off, take one last look to land, sure that they were home for a while, before turning back to tend to the ship.

She had friends on shore, of course, but another few hours until she saw them never caused her any grief, and so she would volunteer for first duty in securing the ship and checking rations; taking first watch until whomever was to relieve her returned from shore. She would ask them how their family were, their girlfriend, or close mates. She would smile and then casually stroll to the tavern. If it was not yet dark, she would usually have walked to the mayoral office first, greeting Lucy and dropping off to Cat whatever gift they had been tasked with finding. On occasion, J’onzz had received no such request, but Kara would find a sweet seashell charm nevertheless.

As it was Lena who was at the mayoral office now, and dim glowing skies had turned to dark, the tavern and its rum was calling. She waded through the throngs of crew from Deo who were sat at some table with a lady on their laps, to the counter where Alex was coyly leaning over whispering to Maggie. Vasquez was down the other end of the bar laughing at something M’Gann remarked – probably at Alex’s flirtatious expense, and so Kara stepped up next to them and looked down towards Alex with them. “A week. It’s been a week,” she said, turning back.

“But it’s true love, Kara,” Vasquez joked.

“Tell Alex that, then,” the blonde shot back.

“Not when she gives the best love bites I’ve ever gotten, I won’t.” Kara cringed at Vasquez’s remark, which only set the other two off laughing again. Almost as if to save her, Cat appeared behind the bar and walked over to her, grabbing a bottle of rum and a glass on her way.

“Hello, traveller,” she said.

“Got you this,” Kara said, digging into her pocket and pulling out a mottled coloured peachy-red stone. “It brings good luck, supposedly.”

“And what might I need good luck for, dear Kara?” Cat asked, taking the stone and regarding it.

“The tavern,” Kara suggested with a general roll of her eyes about the place, and a shrug.

“Fair enough.” Kara smiled in return as her glass was filled, and Cat shot her a wink before tending to other patrons. She knew that nothing was meant by it, but a wink from Cat always made her feel a little braver, a little stronger in herself, as if that wink were to say, _I believe in you, so you can too._ She turned and leaned back against the bar, pulling the handle of her sword towards her to become parallel with her leg, lest the tip of the blade scratch the façade of the bar.

Through the windows to the street outside, Kara could see small rabbles of pirates stumbling by on the way to enter the tavern for their anticipated dinner of rum with a rum chaser. She followed their scuffing footsteps with her eyes, kicking up dirt and sand, making small clouds of dust by the tavern’s doors, before stopping and shuffling backwards. She quirked her head in confusion as she took another sip, and then looked up.

She was unsure why she hadn’t thought to, or hadn’t thought it necessary, but upon this moment reaching her, Kara decided that she really should have prepared herself for seeing Lena again. A sly nudge at her arm and Cat’s words buzzing in her ear, “I think you need this stone more than me,” were nothing but white noise once Kara’s eye’s latched onto the brunette.

Lena laughed kindly at the men and their courtesy to let her pass before them, and Kara felt her breathing grow light. A week away for her had obviously proved to be a good similar seven days for the other woman, making herself at home and feeling more comfortable around the locals of the port.

Lena stepped in and when her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the tavern, she scanned the tables for someone, it seemed. Kara drew her eyes away from Lena reluctantly to follow the brunette’s gaze; who was she looking for? She looked back at Lena, still scanning, unable to spy who they were aiming for, and then she looked to the bar, to Kara. She smiled. Kara smiled back, and then Lena was walking towards her. Kara sighed as her heart leapt; _she was looking for me..._ “I saw that Deo had docked,” the brunette said, and Kara wasn’t prepared for her voice either. It was sweet and welcoming, akin to those of the crew’s family she supposed.

“And you came to welcome us back?” Kara asked, amused, yet hopeful.

“Well, you,” and Kara’s heart leapt again. “But I suppose, yes... all of the crew,” Lena fumbled cheekily, before quickly looking about the tavern and smiling at random sailors. Kara laughed, and turned at the counter to face Lena more, holding onto her sword handle to steady herself, it seemed. “How’s the ocean?”

“She’s well,” Kara answered, and found herself not blinking, not wanting to. “How are you settling in?”

“Quite alright, I think. I’ve made some decisions,” Lena said, a lower seriousness to her tone.

“About?”

“Port Nationale,” Lena answered after a moment, clearly not wanting to divulge too much.

“Vague... and concerning?”

“I hope not,” Lena reassured. “But it might be.” Kara bit the inside of her lip as she nodded, thinking back to how J’onzz had instructed the hand of friendship.

A short silence fell between them. Lena supposed that they might both be thinking a similar thing, and were unsure if or how to broach the subject. She wanted, of course, to tell her _friend_ of any developments she had come upon, but she also knew that this friend, that Kara was part of the more downside decisions she had made. She needed to bring about these points to Captain J’onzz before simply a member of his crew, no matter how much she felt that she might trust Kara.

Kara, similarly, knew that what Lena was to bring up in regards to the port were to be spoken with J’onzz first, and so she simply took a breath through a small smile and blinked, finally. Their staring conversation was brought to an end when Kara felt that need for distance, oddly, and looked over her shoulder to the clock across the tavern. “I have midnight shift,” she said as she turned back to face Lena. She had to lean in as she spoke, the rabble of the sailors of Deo, mainly, slowly rising in volume. “I should go and get some rest.” She downed the rest of her rum and dropped a coin beside it, nodding down to M’Gann, still chatting with Vasquez.

“Might I...” Lena began, stepping partially into Kara’s intended path of exit. “Walk you there?”

“You don’t want to drink?”

Lena shrugged and smiled, shyly, Kara noticed. “I prefer your company to this bunch,” the brunette said, her eyes flickering around the tavern nervously. She cleared her throat, telling herself to calm down, and looked up into Kara’s eyes.

“I’d like that,” Kara said, a small bite to her lip at the end, before smiling. She waited for Lena to turn to the door before grinning more joyously, excitedly, then followed her out. The instant silence they were greeted with upon exiting the tavern was almost deafening in itself. Kara pressed at her ear, which gained Lena’s attention and they shared a laugh. “It’s a small port, but at nightfall they’re all in there.”

The night air was warm, as per usual, but with Deo’s return, a sweet breeze had joined them and so the two women felt much cooler in their walk, the quiet filled by dancing palm fronds. Kara, in her more sturdy boots, played with walking over wooden planks that lay fence-lining properties, creating space between them, before swerving back in towards Lena and standing a breath away from her. Their shoulders brushed at times, Lena’s decision to wear a dress with shorter sleeves making Kara regret her longer ones.

Too soon, they were stepping around the corner and walking towards the dock, to Deo’s gangplank. Kara could see one of the crew on duty rounding to the bridge, where it was harder to see where the two women were, and so she stopped them. She was to be befriending Lena, but was cautious as to how J’onzz may define friendship, and how Kara would. She was unsure if simple friendship, civil and between the leader of a town and a member of a pirate crew, would be as close and hushed as this was beginning to become. “Thank you for walking me,” Kara said softly. In the solitude of night, her hush still sounded too loud; her heart in her ears was too loud as well.

“Do you want me to walk you to the ship?” Lena asked. They were standing in the shadows of a building, hidden from moonlight, and Kara was standing closer to her in her hushed thanks; Lena felt in her chest that she didn’t want to part from the blonde just yet.

“I...” the blonde stuttered, and Lena felt as if she understood.

“Don’t,” she whispered with a smile. “I shall see you around,” she offered instead.

“I will come to your office when J’onzz is ready for a meet between you two,” Kara said in return, and that was her promise to see Lena again. “Good night, Miss Luthor,” she stepped backwards, the moonlight bathing her and illuminating her charming smile.

“Good night, Miss Danvers.” Lena turned and walked across the docks back towards town, to the narrow street that lead to her home, looking back over her shoulder as she went to see that Kara was doing the same. Soon, Kara had vanished up the gangplank, and so she simply focussed ahead of her.

Kara waved to the crew member on duty as she stepped up to the ship, turning to head down to the sleeping cabin, it seemed, and so he turned back to look out to sea. Stepping across to the port rail instead, she ran her hand along the wood until she felt the notches that she had carved, and looked up to shore. She couldn’t see Lena, her dark dress rending her invisible in the night’s shadows, but as the other woman approached her home, a slither of moonlight cast upon her and Kara saw her look behind her to the ship once more, to her.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading guys! I hope you are all enjoying the story so far x


	7. CHAPTER SEVEN

A few days passed, and Kara hadn’t seen Lena since she disappeared into the shadows. She was not worried for her safety as that might seem suspicious, for she had heard of Lena’s goings-on in those days. She was the mayor after all, and would most likely be busy from dawn to dusk in her first few months. So, Kara was not worried for any reason, other than the fact that throughout Lena’s busy schedule and all the people she was meeting and passing ways with, Kara had not been one of them.

J’onzz was also attune to Lena’s seeming absence from anywhere near the docks, picking that up, in part, from Kara’s frequent looks ashore. He had no reason to look into that fact any further than Kara being a good sailor, or member of his crew, and so he never asked anything of it. Alex noticed, however. The elder sister stalked up behind Kara as she was mindlessly, and without result, restitching one of the hammocks that had split under the weight of one of the more gruff pirates on their crew. Alex stood behind Kara for a few moments, waiting for the blonde to realise her presence and be startled, but, of course, she was too deep in thought.

“Hey, little one,” Alex said calmly, but then came the yelp of Kara running the needle through her fingertip. Alex laughed, although she did feel a slight bit guilty at incidentally causing her sister harm. “Sorry,” she said, turning Kara by her shoulders, and still laughing a bit.

“Don’t do that, Alex,” Kara whined, bringing her finger up into her mouth. She brought it out and shook it, hoping the pain would shake out of it too, but that only made it bleed more. “Ow...”

“What were you thinking about?” Alex asked, pulling her sister’s finger up to her face to inspect the wound. “That’s nothing,” she scoffed, looking incredulously at Kara.

Kara smiled, but then it faltered as she thought back on what, or rather _whom_ , she had been lost in thought about. “Nothing, really,” she blew off.

“Lies.”

“Do you think it’s odd that there has been a new mayor for almost three weeks now and she has not come aboard?”

“To be fair, we were at sea for one of those weeks,” Alex answered. “But I suppose she will come around when she is ready, or free.”

“Free?”

“Maggie said that she’s been using the tavern as a sort of general meeting area when her office is too small. Cat said as much, too. Although... haven’t you been talking to Cat?” Alex asked, with a quirk of her eyebrow.

“Yeah, about the ship and tavern, I guess. But I’ve also been here most of the time.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Alex said. Kara looked her over, and all of a sudden realised that while her mind and heart had seemingly raced off to Lena’s side, others that knew her closely were still thinking she was hung up on Cat.

“Oh... no,” Kara laughed, then answered calmly, quickly returning to her stitching, her back to Alex. The other woman was confused, and rounded Kara to face her again. Alex stared at Kara as she tried too hard to focus on her work, but gave up eventually to look up. “What?”

“You have a secret... don’t you?”

“Possibly,” to which Kara received a tilted head, asking for more information. “I’m not entirely sure about it thought; how to word it. I do want to tell you, but...”

“When you’re ready,” Alex finished for her.

“When I’m ready,” Kara echoed. The truth was, she could be quite ready to tell Alex, but there was something about keeping her interactions and resulting feelings for Lena a secret from everyone – sometimes including herself – that made it exciting, or fun somehow. She knew Alex would be on her side, no matter what, but in not telling anyone, she knew there had to be no sides just yet. That seemed easier for everyone.

With Alex’s nod of understanding, and departure to let Kara finish her work, she felt a little clearer in herself, yet still wanted to see Lena, or at least know when she would be seeing her next. After the stitching was complete, and her pin-pricked finger was only the slightest bit pink, Kara decided to rest her fingers, and her hunched neck from too intense a focus. A walk ashore would be nice, a good distraction and an opportunity to perhaps run into the mysterious brunette. Any leave, if only for an hour, needed to be brought to the attention of the captain, and so Kara began her way up to the bridge to approach J’onzz.

“Captain,” she greeted, warranting a smile in her direction.

“Alex told me you had a clumsy moment.”

“She startled me, Captain, and I ran a sewing needle through my finger. It is entirely her fault.” J’onzz let his head fall back as he chuckled, his mouth closed, still smiling. “I was hoping to head ashore for a while, if that is quite alright. Just to stretch my legs, but if you need me-“

“By all means, Kara,” he interjected. “I was hoping you would, actually.”

“Really?” Kara asked, bemused.

“The new mayor still wishes to meet me, visit the ship, yes?”

“I assume so.”

“Perhaps, instead of simply wondering when she might decide to grace us with her presence,” Kara refrained from frowning at the slight tone used against Lena; “you might, on your walk, pay her assistant a visit to arrange a time.”

“I can do that,” Kara answered, neglecting, for obvious reasons, to mention that she had intended to walk by the mayoral office anyway. “Do you have a particular day in mind?”

“Whenever she is free, we shall be ready,” he said with a smile, turning to face Kara for the first time in the conversation. Kara nodded, and turned to leave, cantering down the steps to the main deck and striding over to the gangplank. A final look, a habit, back to the bridge with a nod, and then she stepped down to land.

The day felt, in itself, rather uneventful so far, with only minor tasks being done on the ship. It was neither windy, nor cloudy, and so the bare whitened-blue sky, casting the sunshine down about Port Nationale, gave the aura of a simple day. She wasn’t feeling lazy, instead quite a lot more awake than she had felt in many weeks, and yet she could only imagine lying on the sand of the cove or some long-stretching beach all day.

She looked down at her tanned arms, contrasting so warmly against the thin white shirt she was wearing, the sleeves rolled up her forearms, and the chest buttons undone to a respectable level, and decided that a day lying in the sun was perhaps too much for her skin. She was already kissed by the sun – as Alex had once described her – enough and so would not want to get too overly burnt. Perhaps only an hour on such a beach then, she mused as she wandered, and perhaps it would be made even the more nice by the company of a certain brunette woman, with skin kissed by the moon instead.

Kara thought back on her daydreaming, the sweet tranquillity of it before Alex snuck up behind her and remembered the montage of images running through her mind, all beginning with how Lena had looked that first evening at the door to the tavern, laced in darkness and even darker lace, strolling confidently into the room. She couldn’t recall if people had gone silent at her entrance as Kara had, or if the blonde had simply drowned them out with her own racing heartbeat.

Such memories were all she had, pitifully how it was, to hold onto until she saw Lena next. As she walked, rounding the corner that took her down the street to Lena’s, she ducked her head bashfully, feeling a little unlike herself in her emotions. She had never been overwhelmed like this when Cat occupied her mind. Quickly as it washed over her, it vanished, or Kara brushed it off, not needing to knock on the mayoral office door and be greeted by Lucy _or_ Lena in her almost blushing state.

A few raps on the hard wood, and she could hear Lucy scramble up from behind her desk to answer it. The door swung open, and as usual, Lucy’s sweet and beaming smile looked up at her; Kara smiled back just as widely. For some reason or another, today’s pleasant smile from the other woman truly did send a shock of happiness through the blonde, hence her smile of utmost joy. “Hello, Lucy.”

“Kara, come on in,” Lucy beckoned, waving her hand about and stepping back into the building. She rounded to her desk and flipped open what Kara assumed to be Lena’s appointment book, and saw for the first time how full it was. Barely a time slot spare in the next day or so, and it made Kara a little sorry; sorry that Lena wouldn’t be able to find much peace and rest, and would probably end up getting quite run down. Having very little money to spare, she frowned at her inability to even make a soup for the other woman, but made a mental note to help Lena enjoy the port when she had the time. A sort of light-of-fun at the end of the tunnel.

“Miss Luthor’s not in much today,” Lucy continued.

“I only stopped by to arrange a definite time for the mayor to visit Deo,” Kara explained, stepping over to the edge of the desk. “Captain J’onzz is very interested in discussing any changes that may occur under her command.”

“I see, well...” Lucy said, looking back to the books and flipping over the page, and then the next.

“I doubt that it’d be a very long talk, but just in case...”

“She has no spare time available in the next two days, but... after noon on Friday, she has no more meetings. I assume she intends to stay out and meet more of the locals – she wants to stop by my house, did I tell you that?”

“No?” Kara answered. She had bumped into Lucy in the marketplace a couple of days ago, after they had docked and needed food replenishing. Lucy had mentioned Lena’s busy schedule, and how she herself was doing much more paperwork which made her worry about not being home. Kara had known Lucy for years, and considered herself a friend, so when Lucy’s father had fallen ill, Kara was glad that the flowers she’d bring to the other woman’s desk would vanish the next day as they would be sat next to Lucy’s father. “How do you feel about that?”

“Well...” Lucy paused, looking up at Kara as she pointed to the time slot in the book with her pencil. Kara nodded, so she pencilled it in, before continuing. “I trust Miss Luthor. She’s sweet and considerate. My father says I talk so highly of her that he would like to meet her too, so I suppose it’ll be alright.”

“I’m glad.” Kara smiled down at the other woman, who’s smile was there as well, albeit a little weaker. “Just because she is the mayor, though, Lucy,” she waited for her to look up. “That does not mean that it isn’t your home too. I’m sure Lena will understand if you want your father to be more well for her visit.”

“You’re right. Thank you, Kara,” Lucy said, that smile becoming stronger again. “But...” and her gaze shifted, inquisitively so in a way that made Kara freeze. “ _Lena_?” Lucy asked, referring to Kara’s referencing of the mayor so informally.

Scuffing her boots on the floor, Kara tried to maintain eye contact with the other woman, but eventually broke, flashing her eyes down to the floor, caught in her feelings. “We’re friends,” she said.

“Does J’onzz know?”

“Yes, more or less.”

“Explain...” Lucy cooed, leaning over her desk for the possibly juicy details.

“He asked me to befriend her for the sake of keeping up a good working relationship between the mayor and Deo.”

“Mm-hm...”

“Well, I’m not very well going to be walking around befriending someone and calling them their title and last name, now am I, Lucy?”

“I suppose,” the other woman gave up.

“It’s no different to me and Cat,” Kara stated.

“Yes, but you _liked_ Cat, didn’t you?” Lucy pointed out, fairly certain that she was onto something.

“I’m leaving now,” Kara said abruptly, knowing definitively that Lucy was, indeed, onto something. She turned to the door, looking back over at Lucy who was in a silent fit of giggles and swung open the door to a sudden, ‘oh!’ Kara looked ahead of her, tearing her eyes away from Lucy to the person in front of her at the step to the office.

“I was hoping to run into you,” Lena said, stepping up to the door, edging closer to Kara who was apparently frozen in her place. Lena smiled softly, a little quirked at one side and took another step into the doorway. Thankfully the door blocked Lucy from seeing much, from seeing how close a proximity the two women were in; Lena seemed to know this.

“I...” Kara stuttered, her brain going blank of any fraction of a sentence she had been planning to make, as Lena stepped even closer. The doorway was narrow, only one of the double doors being opened, and with Kara’s inability to make room, Lena was only more than happy to step into the tight space.

“You...?” Lena hushed, knowing how daringly close they had quickly come to each other, her breath practically teasing Kara’s lips. Another lean in towards her, her steps into the building causing her to do so, and she felt her hip bump against the handle of Kara’s sword. She reached down, keeping eye contact with the blonde, and pushed it up, flush with Kara’s body so that she may slip past, and so she did. She stepped aside from Kara, beginning to distance herself quickly before letting go of the sword handle, brushing her fingertips along the thin material at Kara’s waist.

Kara felt her heart race all of a sudden, as if it had been as shocked and frozen in place as she had been, and her breath ran heavy up her throat. Her grip on the door handle, possibly the only indicator that Lucy could see, loosened as she took a few steadying breaths, blinking her eyelids over burning eyes that had stared for too long. She turned back into the room to see Lena blushing and Lucy smiling down into her paperwork, and she stuttered again.

“I wanted to set up a meeting with you, Miss Danvers,” Lena said, and now Kara felt a little stupid, a little bashful, at casually calling Lena by her first name, whilst she was referred to so formally. “To speak with your captain,” Lena clarified, as Kara looked to be lost in thought again.

“Yes, right. I actually-“

“We just sorted that out, Miss Luthor,” Lucy spoke up. “Friday afternoon you have completely free so I assumed that would allow you as much time to discuss with Captain J’onzz as you need.” She finished by looking up at Kara who looked baffled, as if she would definitely not have been able to form that clear a sentence. The blonde smiled and Lucy smiled back, continuing to do so as she went back to her paperwork.

“Splendid,” Lena said, looking down at Lucy. She saw that the younger woman was back to her papers already, so dared to look up at Kara again, who was obviously hoping for it, eyes already locked onto her. “I shall see you then,” Lena said, beginning to turn back to her office, before finishing with, “Kara.”

Lena slipped into her office and Lucy snapped her eyes up to the now closing door, then over to Kara who only shot her a slightly smug smile and closed that door as well.

~ ~ ~ ~

Lena’s office, uncluttered and quiet, felt like a moment’s recluse each time she entered it. Strolls through town meeting new people and greeting already-acquaintances was a simple task, unburdened by loud boisterous men – most of the time – or conversations upon conversations between various people all crammed into one space. But even still, she had to keep herself proper, posture affirming yet approachable, her gait calm yet authoritative, and her demeanour kind yet not a fool. When she was in her office, alone and undisturbed, she could be herself and slouch against the windowsill to catch her breath.

Her corset was still tight around her bodice, and so she couldn’t completely relax, but more than if she was to remain completely in the public eye all day. There had been a few days in the past week where Lena had not returned to her office for hours, sometimes near to the whole day. She would be tired and drained, her cheeks sore from smiling as she became more a part of the town she now called home, and while she looked so very much forward to a day off, even a morning off, she would not have changed a thing.

In her past life, she met people every day; was to talk to them and be as likable as possible, but it had never seemed to mean much beyond passing time or simple pleasantries. Now, each new interaction seemed to have a purpose, if only to reassure her that she was where she was meant to be. Of course, she couldn’t be truly sure of that fact, but each day that rolled around seemed to prove it to her just that little bit more.

The presence of certain people in her new life also seemed to act as a guiding hand, or even one to hold, as she adjusted and settled in. Leaning her head back against the window frame, her eyes were cast up to the palm fronds that lined the street outside of her building. In her mind’s eye, she transformed them into the trees of the city where she grew up, autumn casting the leaves a different colour as they floated to the ground. Once a calming and stilling thought, she realised as she watched the trees of the Caribbean dance, that it was now just a memory that held very little emotional weight.

She still remembered kicking up fallen leaves on walks with Jack, but as her liking for Port Nationale grew, and she found a warmth grow in her chest as she walked about it, she felt that her connection with New York was fading. It was not bad; simply showing that she had never known anything else, and that not knowing meant that she wasn’t too sure of what she really wanted either.

Focussing back decisively on the palm fronds, she knew that she wanted to see them every day, to hear them every day, and longed for the sound of rain hitting them. She wanted their flimsy provision of shade, and to watch young children climb their trunks. She wanted to hunt for the taller ones that had coconuts and to enjoy the dry flesh of one, perhaps with someone that she wanted to go on adventures with. A smile, a glance down at her lap to her clammy palms, fingertips running against each other; she wanted to go on adventures with Kara, and to lean up against a palm tree as the blonde kissed her.

She wanted Kara.

~ ~ ~ ~

Friday afternoon arrived, and Lena had spent her morning helping at the dock markets, and now smelt of fish. A venture of hers to become one of the town, and immerse herself into the life there, not simply being the governing force of it; yet now she was to head to Deo. As she pushed open the door to her office, stumbling in and making tracks for the doorway that lead upstairs, she heard a slight chuckle from behind her. Thinking it was Lucy, she spun around intent to shush her, feeling quite ridiculous and late, but found it to be Kara.

She also now realised that her mad dash for a change of dress might come off as her need to spruce up before seeing Kara again, and of course, the captain of Deo – which of course was what she was thinking. Yes, she knew that a fish-stench coated dress would perhaps be frowned upon by the captain, but she more thought that she didn’t want Kara to find fault in her.

Smoothing her dress and throwing it down to cover her muddied boots, she licked her lips trying to hide the grin that threatened to break free. “Miss Danvers,” she cooed, rolling her shoulders back.

“Madam Mayor,” Kara shot back, raising a brow. “I hope you don’t mind; I came to escort you to the ship.”

“Oh?” Lena asked, feeling a little touched by the gesture.

“Well, J’onzz commanded me do so, but I hardly complained,” Kara admitted, looking down at herself, which caused Lena to laugh a little. “If anything, I...” Kara began as she took a step nearer to Lena. Pausing her sentence, she made a face of concentration as she breathed in, and Lena felt a rush of embarrassment.

“I’m sorry,” she spat, backtracking to the stairs. “I was helping at the docks this morning.”

“Oh,” Kara said, looking up apologetically almost. “It’s not that... You smell of... fruit too.”

“You can smell that past the fish?” Lena asked incredulously, unsure if Kara was being entirely serious with her.

“Past the prawns too,” the blonde nodded with a smirk. Lena blushed as she turned to head to the stairs, before looking quickly over her shoulder to Kara as she took the first step up.

“I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Shout if you need a hand,” Kara said without thinking. Realising how that sounded, and what she had just offered to help with she smacked her hand to her forehead and turned to head out of sight from the brunette.

Lena chuckled all the way upstairs, cheekily wondering if she should take the pirate up on her offer, but decided against it. After all, Kara obviously didn’t mean it the way it had sounded... _or had she?_ Lena pushed the thought aside as she opened her drawers to retrieve a clean dress, and decided on a simple pastel blue one that held a level of decorum while still showing style. In the moments after she had draped her soiled dress from the morning over the tub in the corner of her room, and before she had pulled on her new dress, she felt something. Unsure of quite what it was, she let it settle on her for a moment until she recognised it, then rushed to dress again.

In her undergarments, skin bared and body flushed from the warm day, the sensation rippling through her body was that of desire, of want. After Kara’s comment, her body, at least, was hoping for the blonde to walk up those stairs and into Lena’s room as she was in such a state of undress. Knowing that such a thing should not happen – although why it shouldn’t she could not put down to a directive phrase – she dressed again, possibly quicker than she ever had in her life. She double checked herself in the tarnished mirror of her room, and when content, turned to descend to meet Kara.

The pirate was head in hands, sitting at one of the waiting chairs to her office when Lena rounded the corner from the stairs. At the sound of her footsteps, Kara stood up and smiled, lop-sided, as if to apologise for her awkward wording earlier. At the kind smile returned to her from Lena, she bowed her head in relief and turned to the door. “Shall we?” she asked, opening it courteously for the other woman.

“Why, thank you, kind madam,” Lena said dramatically as she curtsied, before stepping out into the sunshine and the world with her perfect posture, hands clasped in front. Breathing in the day, fresh and humid, and noting the distinct lack of seafood smell assaulting her at the same time, she waited for Kara to close the door and step beside her before making tracks.

Unable to continue any flirtatious conversation, or any normal conversation without the fear of it turning flirtatious, the two women walked in silence together past the last of markets and other sailors. On occasions where they had to pass through a larger crowd, or squeeze between market stalls, they were brought tantalising close to each other. Kara wondered when the exact moment was that any interaction with Lena transitioned from fun and exciting to blood-rushing and breathtaking. For in those moments where they were physically forced closer to each other, she could practically feel her heart pull, and perhaps other parts of her as well, towards the brunette.

Lena felt it to, but was able to hide her reactions a little better, enjoying instead how Kara’s eyes flicked around nervously and how her hand retracted into her pocket when it brushed Lena’s. Soon enough however, or too soon, they were approaching the docks and the bay of ships was in front of them. Kara could see far ahead up to the bridge, J’onzz standing at a casual attention ready to greet the new mayor, and her heart began to race for a complete other reason. She was sure why, but also unsure as to the extent, but she wanted the captain to like and respect Lena so very much. She wanted this – whatever this quite was in its entirety – to work.

The crew of Deo seemed to come to a stand-still as Lena stepped foot off the gangplank and touched once-pristine boots down to the deck. Kara stood at her hind, a hand out to guide, or to brace her if she tumbled backwards for any reason, and Lena felt in that moment that she absolutely needed it. She had been nervous, unsure, and sceptical of people’s impressions of her, but taking her first step onto a pirate ship was something else altogether. She felt in that moment that she perhaps should have prepared herself; hearing such dangerous and infamous tales of the pirate’s life, and the lowly crimes they supposedly committed on a daily basis, had resided in Lena as wariness.

And yet, as she knew that she was to board a ship, _the_ ship of these waters, and to immerse herself with the people of that life, she somehow had not taken into account of how that would make her feel when she finally did. She was hot-breathed, sweaty-palmed, a little weak in her ankles as she stood tall on the deck, looking up through the slithers of sunlight and flickering shadows of sails in the breeze to Captain J’onzz at the bridge with a courteous smile. Her stomach dropped, and she swallowed thickly when he nodded his welcome to her, and all noises surrounding her seemed to fade.

Only when Kara’s boots shuffling on the deck behind her reached her ears, and the blonde’s presence slipping by her shook her from her trance, did Lena return to herself and take a breath. “Welcome to Deo,” Kara hummed, before extending an arm to the steps across the deck that lead up to the bridge. Lena stepped off in the direction of Kara’s hand, impulsively wishing to grab a hold of it for comfort, but sternly smoothed down her dress instead, taking the opportunity to dry her hands of her nerves.

Lena watched her footing as she walked, yet took a few glances ahead and aside of her to take in the ship’s layout before reaching the steps. Up, two, three, four, and the act of climbing something whilst on the water took her by surprise as a larger than usual wave rolled against and under the ship’s starboard side. She planted both feet on that step for a moment and grasped the rail – glad that she had dried her hands - sure not to hesitate for too long a rest and continued her ascent. When she reached the bridge, she turned to see that Kara had remained on the main deck and was talking to a woman she had seen a few times at the tavern. Catching in that short minute how close they appeared together, their comfortability and ease of jesting conversations, she supposed the other woman to be the elder of the Danvers sisters, of which Kara and Cat had both told her about.

Sensing the presence of someone approaching her, she turned to face them and was met with possibly one of the brightest smiles she had ever seen. Captain J’onn J’onzz was a pirate, yes, but a gentleman and a kind man too. Smiling was something that was never seen a sign of weakness on his ship, and so the beaming grin was his welcome to the new mayor. “Madam Mayor,” he said, extending his hand to shake, and now Lena was doubly glad that she had wiped her hand down earlier.

“Pleased to finally meet, Captain,” Lena responded, meeting his hand with hers.

After a shake, J’onzz held that hand out towards his cabin door and took a step in that direction. “Shall we discuss any plans you have for the port, Miss Luthor?”

“Quite,” Lena said, stepping towards the door.

“And then, if you like, a short tour of the ship, should you have the time?”

“That would be lovely,” she said with a smile. J’onzz opened the door ahead of her and walked in, holding it open for her, and as she stepped to the archway of it, she dared a glance behind her. She was sure that any sight of the main deck would be minimal, but to her luck, and gratitude, Kara had stepped to the rigging on the port side. The blonde was leaning out from the rail of the ship, hanging by one arm from the ropes and flashing Lena a cocked grin, and while she was aware that eyes may still be on her and therefore could not return one herself, she nodded her head before turning and entering J’onzz’s cabin. “I cannot tell a lie,” she began whence the door closed, “but I have had no prior interactions with pirates before.”

“And what do you make of _us?_ ” J’onzz posed, keen to see if there was a difference between Deo and the usual lore of pirates that one hears.

“The tales I have heard do not stand to you or your crew,” Lena said frankly. “You are as I would see any man, or woman for that matter. I do not perceive you to be pirates.”

“But we are precisely that,” the man across the table from her smirked. “You see, I have never met a pirate who didn’t reflect myself. We are all smart, wise and aware of the world we live in, and of the people who dictate our existence in it. Some are more prone to greed and... the more undesirable sides of life, but that is true of any person, in any part of the world, in any line of work. In any life, a person can be cruel, can be criminal, can be the quintessential scum that people think a pirate to be.”

“True.”

“Some may say it is lucky for you to have met us, your first pirates, and for us to be... dignified, as one would assume a man of wealth to be in London or New York, yes?”

“Yes...” Lena hushed, recalling all of the clean-shaven and well-dressed men that she had had to endure in her life, yet now would perhaps recognise and decide that they were worse than any preconceived idea of what a pirate may be.

“Instead of the scheming and dark-spirited ones among us,” J’onzz continued. “But I would argue that we are of the higher percentage; that you could travel five, ten ports over and find pirates just as,” he gestured down upon himself smoothly, “as we are.” Finishing with a smile, he clasped his hands in his lap and leant back in his chair to dutifully wait for Lena’s response.

After a moment of thought, of changing perspectives and mindedness, ideals that she had been conditioned to since her youth, Lena smiled in return and leant back in her own chair. “Too right you are.”

“I am glad you agree, Miss Luthor,” J’onzz spoke. “Now, to the business at hand. What do you intend to make of your mayorship, and how does it, perchance, affect us?”

~ ~ ~ ~

There was something to be said about the focus of a person when they were trying too hard to focus, and that would simply be: that it never transpired as one would hope. Kara had a million and one things that she could very well be doing to pass her day and pull her weight as a member of the crew, and yet with her mind so intently focussed on several would-be, possible conversations that might very well be happening on the other side of the captain’s door, her half-hearted, and even lesser-so focus, was not allowing her to accomplish any of them.

There were a few planks up on the bridge that needed mending; the nails that secured them were running loose, and so when Kara had as-well-as-possibly finished her current task, of which she could hardly remember its nature once moving on from it, she swung below deck to retrieve the tools necessary for the boards and set to work. She could not hear a word that was being said beyond the wooden door in front of her, but she piqued her ears nonetheless.

“Focussing intently enough, Danvers?” a voice whistled from the top of the stairs to the bridge, causing the blonde to bring down the make-shift hammer she was using plum onto her knuckle, splitting it. “Oh!” Winn gushed, stepping over and pulling a rag from his back pocket and quickly pushing it into Kara’s line of sight.

“Thanks,” Kara said, with a tone of sarcasm. “I guess I wasn’t really focussing that hard.”

“Not from how it looked,” Winn said, and so she looked up. “You were almost frowning at the nail... are you feeling well?”

“Yes, I mean...” Kara sighed, pushing off her knees so that she came down to sit on her hip, still holding the rag to her hand. “My mind is elsewhere, and so I suppose my focus is not exactly as...”

“Focussed?” Winn jokingly suggested.

“As it should be...” another sigh and Winn reached a reassuring hand over to her shoulder.

“If you ever need to talk...” he began, knowing that she could register the rest of the sentence. At the sounds of movement aside the door, Kara held her hand up in attempts to wrap the rag around it more securely until Winn reached over and helped her complete the task. With a smile, he left her to get back to her work as he did his.

Kara took a breath before sincerely focussing on her job this time, and found that by doing so, she accomplished so much of it in such a short time. She was knocking in the final nail, holding a spare between her teeth, feeling ever the hard worker, when the door opened, and the grace and purity of Lena’s fruity perfume danced into her brain again. Smiling around the nail, she smoothed her ragged hand over the nails she had replaced, and content, stood to vacate the bridge landing for her captain and mayor.

“Danvers,” her name was called before she could reach the stairs, and so she turned around again. She slipped the hammer into her belt much like her sword would usually be, and removed the nail from her loose bite, twiddling it around her fingers instead.

“Yes, Captain,” she greeted, a small fleeting smile flashed over to Lena as well.

“Will you be going ashore this eve?” he asked, and she quirked her head.

“I suppose. I could stay if you needed?” she responded.

“No, not at all, Kara. My thoughts were that you might escort Miss Luthor back to her office after a brief tour, as a show of trust and the like,” he said aside to the brunette, almost as if it were an inside joke of theirs. “And then you may stay ashore for the afternoon as well.”

“Really?”

“Of course; I now see that my best fighter has injured her hand,” he nodded to the red-stained rag around Kara’s hand and she nodded shamefully, yet with a smile on her face. “A rum at the tavern ought to mend that well, aye?”

“Indeed, sir,” Kara said back, with a laugh in her words.

“Shall you show me the ship, Miss Danvers?” Lena asked, to which Kara nodded and half bowed, half cheekily, and took her leave to return the tools and gather her sword and jacket so that she may look the proper pirate before granting that tour, and escorting the lady home. She may be a pirate, but Kara Danvers was also a gentlewoman.

A last look over her shoulder to the bridge before she descended to her bunk, and this time it was Lena’s turn to shoot her a smile from afar as she walked from the captain. Almost in one fluid motion, Kara pulled the hammer from her belt and slid her sword in to the spot it usually occupied, placing the nail in between her teeth again to pull on her jacket. At the beckoning of another sailor, she handed over the hammer and skipped back up the stairs, taking two at a time; excited, to say the least, at having the rest of the day off.

Sure, she only had another hour or so before sunset and so there wasn’t too much that she would’ve accomplished that another member of the crew could, but she still felt a little on the guilty side to be leaving her post to follow after Lena. With the remembrance that J’onzz was the one who practically ordered her to do so, her guilt faded away as she met Lena on the main deck.

“Anything of interest down there?” Lena asked, looking over Kara’s shoulder.

“Only the kitchen and sleeping quarters, storage for weapons and rum.”

“Ah,” Lena smiled. “Of course.”

“A pirate is merely another sailor without rum,” Kara joked. She looked around the ship and pointed to minor things, detailing them for Lena to understand, and then finally over to the gangplank so that they may exit.

“A sturdy ship?” Lena stated, but asked for she wasn’t entirely sure.

“Very; I am not sure of the exact number,” Kara began as they reached the gangplank, “but she has faired quite a number of storms in her time.” Lena nodded, seemingly impressed, but Kara also knew that any ship worth their while could stand many a storm under the right crew. “After you,” Kara said around the nail still dangling between her teeth, gaining the brunette’s attention and smile as she gestured down the gangplank.

“Why, thank you,” Lena responded, far too entertained by the overt formalities in their conversation to return to anything but with Kara.

“So, what are your impressions of Deo?” Kara asked as they reached the shade of town buildings and trees. She took the nail from between her teeth and tucked it into her belt, waiting for Lena’s reply.

“Formidable,” Lena said after careful thought.

“Really?”

“Or at least, it offers the perception of that,” she clarified. “The crew is hardworking, the captain sure, and the ship itself, simply impressive.” Kara nodded to herself after Lena finished her observation and felt a sense of pride in her home, in her ship, and family. Their walk was quiet again for a while, both women simply enjoying the others’ presence as they passed through the shaded streets and greeted townsfolk.

Slipping through a narrow walkway, Kara stepped aside and held her hand forward as invitation for Lena to take the lead – the one that she hadn’t gestured with earlier - and when the brunette had, she turned and continued walking backwards, her own hand coming up to gently grasp Kara’s. “Whatever did you do to your hand, Kara?” she asked, formalities forgotten as they seemed to be alone.

“I was... distracted, and Winn startled me as I brought the hammer down. It’s only split skin; it will heal,” Kara assured, but still was enjoying the gentle caressing and palming of her hand in Lena’s.

“However that may be, please let me dress it more cleanly. This rag looks as if it has only lived in the back pocket of one of your crew, gathering up dirt and blood as it was carried through life.” Kara only smiled at Lena’s disgust, privately amused at how she was completely accurate in her assumption of the rag’s cleanliness.

They rounded another corner and emerged across the street from Lena’s office. “If you insist,” Kara said, her hand being let go as they crossed to the door. Lena opened it and stepped inside, seeing Lucy’s desk still empty, and seeming to think for a moment as she closed the door behind Kara. It was so much cooler, fresher inside and away from the sun, and so Kara took a breath in, feeling the coolness wash over her.

“I have a small medical bag upstairs,” Lena said, walking to the entrance that led up to her home, and turning back to see Kara still standing by the door. “Follow, Miss Danvers; I don’t bite,” she said with a devilish smile and a quirk of her eyebrow that seemed to suggest that biting was something that Lena Luthor very much did. When Kara had gotten past that little fact, and began to follow, Lena continued to talk to her over her shoulder. “So, why were you distracted?”

“Distracted?”

“Which led to your injury, silly...”

“Oh! I... was... thinking.”

“About?”

“You,” Kara said in a hushed tone, slightly distracted again in that instance as something about ascending those stairs felt oddly familiar.

“Oh?” Lena cooed, shooting another of her devilish glances over her shoulder to the blonde, catching her up on what she had, in fact, just said. Kara tried to open her mouth and speak, but what started out as muttering only developed into mild stammering, and so she stopped herself. Lena only laughed as she pulled out a chair at the small kitchen table she owned, and crossed to open a cupboard.

“I simply didn’t want J’onzz to intimidate you,” Kara managed as she sat, although she knew that they both knew it was a lie.

“Aren’t you too sweet,” Lena said as she sat down in front of Kara. “Please remove your jacket and roll up your sleeve if you like,” she commanded. Kara did as she was told and rolled up her sleeve, revealing the edge of a small tattoo along her upper forearm, of which Lena simply couldn’t resist touching. “When did you get this?”

“When I first joined Deo,” Kara whispered, pulling up her sleeve a bit more. It was only the size of a coin, and very simple it its design; a circle with a wave crossing through the middle. “Alex wanted to do it, but I didn’t trust her,” Kara laughed.

“Your own sister?”

“She probably would’ve mangled the image,” Kara protested. “By laughing too much.”

“She laughs a lot at inopportune moments?” Lena asked, carefully unwrapping Kara’s mock bandage and then resting the blonde’s hand in her lap.

Kara swallowed thickly before answering, keenly aware of her hand’s position, and also aware of how such a position made her feel. “She’s a bit annoying in that sense. She’s a good sailor, and an excellent first mate, but...” Kara faltered again, Lena shifting closer to Kara in her seat so that her hand was even closer towards Lena in return. “Awfully cheeky,” she managed, just as Lena was lifting her hand again.

Careful not to split it any more, the brunette carefully wiped at the reddened skin, trying to encourage the little fragments of dirt away. A wince from Kara made her stop and look up, only to be met with a sweet smile from the blonde, and so she continued. Again, she placed Kara’s hand down delicately in her lap, and as she fussed with items on the table, looking for a ball of cotton, she could feel the delicate stitching details of her dress be played with. She stole a quick look at the blonde whose eyes were downcast, and then to the hand in her lap. She smiled sweetly, lost in the little moment, at how carefully and equally fascinatedly Kara’s dirtied fingertips played with the clean silk.

“Do people hand stitch all this?” Kara asked in wonder, and so Lena turned back to her, cotton ball slightly drenched in alcohol.

“They do,” she answered, holding up the ball for Kara to see, and prepare for. As she brought it down to dab at the split and seeping skin, she began talking again, in hopes that it would distract the pirate from any pain. “The dress I had made for my sixteenth birthday; I watched the seamstress sew some of the detailing. It was quite fascinating, but obviously very time-consuming.” Removing the cotton ball, Lena inspected the wound and nodded with satisfaction. “Now, I know that you are a pirate, and a slave to the sea, or whatnot...” she paused for Kara’s laughter, then continued. “But do try to keep this dry.”

“I will try, Lena,” Kara hushed again, although the majority of the conversation had become hushed.

“Now, tell me of your tattoo?”

“What of it?” Kara asked in return, watching as Lena began to wrap her hand in a much cleaner and practical cloth.

“Did it hurt?”

“Well, yes, but... nothing too unbearable.” With the edge of the cloth tucked in, Lena smoothed her hand over it and held Kara’s fingertips for a moment, looking down at them as she could feel Kara looking at her. But then she was standing and packing up her medical bag and so Kara got an idea. “Come back,” she said, pulling at her belt as Lena slowly sat back down. “And hold out your arm.”

Lena did as she was told, and watched as Kara presented the nail that had been dangling from her teeth earlier. The blonde grabbed the bottle of alcohol and another ball of cotton and quickly cleaned it, sure that Lena would rather not come into contact with a nail that was certainly unclean. “You don’t need to do that,” Lena laughed, admiring the other woman’s focus.

“I’m sure I do, because...” Kara began, edging closer on her chair this time and taking Lena’s arm in her hand. She brought the tip of the nail down to the brunette’s skin, but hovering just above, looking up to Lena for consent. When she nodded, Kara pressed the nail to Lena’s skin and lightly dragged it across.

“Is that all it feels like? That is hardly anything,” and at that, Kara pressed a little harder, causing Lena to breathe in sharply. Her eyes snapped to Kara’s and they held eye contact as the blonde continued to trace deft red lines across pale white skin. The precarious dance seemed to go on forever, barely a blink between them. As Kara brought the nail around for another drag down the skin, she preceded it with a gentle caress of her fingertips, the nail resting between knuckles instead. She could feel the warmth and slight raise of where the nail had been before, and after a moment, could feel Lena’s own hand reaching up to caress the back of Kara’s forearm as well.

“Does it hurt now?”

“A little,” Lena answered quietly and breathlessly. As if needing that air from Kara, she began to lean in, her own hand coming to not just caress Kara’s arm, but to grab it, halting movement and grounding the moment. “I w-“

A knock at the front door from downstairs rattled them apart, awkwardly and only now inducing a flush in both their cheeks. “I should be leaving anyway,” Kara sputtered, standing up and awkwardly placing the nail down onto the edge of the table.

“Of course; I have paper work to do anyway,” Lena lied. She was on top of all that she needed to get done, but she surmised that she now needed a stiff drink and a long bath to cloud her dwelling thoughts. She followed Kara downstairs, watched her as she tilted her head and ran her fingertips down the wall and hand rail as if she were memorising it, before walking to the door and opening it for the blonde.

“Alex!” Kara greeted, thoroughly surprised by her sister’s presence. “Did J’onzz give you the afternoon off as well?”

“No...” Alex frowned. “You left almost an hour ago. We’re all done for the day.”

“Oh,” Kara said, her brain a little fuzzy on how time had slipped by so quickly as she had similarly slipped further into Lena.

“Well,” Lena broke through, smiling at both women. “I shall no doubt see you both around.” Of course, she intended that for Kara in hopes that they would indeed be seeing more of each other. With a smile from both Danvers’, Lena closed the door to them as they stepped off towards the tavern, and she to step into a hot bath where the searing water may run over her skin and mask the red lines still caressing her arm.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta tell ya... I had SOOO much fun writing this chapter, or rather just this last little scene. I hope you've all enjoyed it too, so let me know :) xo


	8. CHAPTER EIGHT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo sorry for the late (by a day) update!! Work got in the way and before I knew it, it was Saturday and I hadn't given you darlings a new chapter. Hope you've survived an extra day without these pirate lovers... But here they are now, so please enjoy!

The next morning when she awoke, Lena went about her usual routine; enjoying the air on her skin, for it was neither noticeably warm nor cool, but then how staying in one position for too long with her now awakened body created slight dabs of sweat to grow. Then she rose to the gaze out the window as the curtain, her robe and her own hair masked her from clear view, before bypassing her slippers to head to the kitchen.

She had floundered the night before, after Kara had left, and was oddly spurred with an energy she found familiar yet alien, and in attempts to expel it lest she spend her night sleepless, she swept her floors. From the farthest corner of her bedroom, down to the kitchen, the stairs and her office, she finally swept out a heap of dust and threads, leaves, hair, crumbs through the door to the street. So now, as she padded through her kitchen preparing a light breakfast, her feet felt refreshed upon the old wooden floor, undisturbed by small particles of dirt below her.

Turning back from her small bench to the table to sit and eat, recline and cross her legs before she began her day, she saw the nail. The nail that seemed to cause her fine scratches to burn, purely at sight. The nail that had somehow brought Kara closer to her, physically and otherwise. The nail that Kara had held delicately in her fingertips, her knuckles while she equally as delicately marked Lena. And the nail that had caused her skin to rip with heat before being warmly soothed by the pirate’s fingertips.

The nail that had seemed to show what could be done, hopefully would be done by and to the persons it was linking in that moment. Lena sat and placed her bowl of fruit down, its honey drizzle seeping through from banana to melon to grape as she stared whisperingly at the nail. She dared not breathe around it, for worry that a single breath might ruin the memory of what that nail had done to her and for her.

Finally, she reached out in haste and grabbed it between fingertips, and then rolled it into her fist, squeezing it. She released her grip and let it sit plainly in her palm; a nail, plain and unused, sitting still in the pale and pinkened hand of a woman who had, up until that moment, never held a nail before. Now, Lena knew of course, that a nail was meant to fasten things together, hold strongly and securely, and yet this nail, her first nail, felt as if it were so much more. It did seem to fasten and secure, with strength and a sort of passion, herself to Kara, but this nail now also seemed to hold the memory of the pirate; the image of Kara with her mouth slightly open, unblinkingly holding Lena’s gaze as she dragged that nail painfully and oh, so pleasurably against the brunette’s skin.

This nail was a physical capture of that moment and the feelings that stirred because of it.

~ ~ ~ ~

Her day was as it seemed it usually would be; paperwork, talking to members of the port, settling minor disputes, and wondering when Kara would visit her next. She thought it perhaps a little unprofessional to spend so much of her time thinking about Kara, but also knew that it was telling in the blonde’s frequency of occupying her mind. If Lena Luthor was unsure or still questioning her attraction towards women, her feelings for Kara now spelt it out as clear as they could be. It had been over a month, nearing two, and the strength and intensity of which she had felt for Kara in the beginning had not waned or faded at all.

And in her quiet moments of solitude, between meetings or when she allowed herself to venture upstairs for a cup of tea, she would think of Kara and how certain interactions with the blonde had made her feel. Dragging the still warmth of her empty cup over her bare forearm, across barely-there lines, or closing her eyes and remembering how Kara’s eyes had held to her as she had stepped closer to her, the clammy warmth of the blonde’s hand in hers for only a fraction of time; Lena could almost lose track of time.

She did not want that, and so in an agreement of a sort of game, Lena would limit her thoughts of Kara and the time that they lasted. She would savour the blonde’s presence in her mind so that she may feel as if she had earnt it when Kara was actually there. She would remember the day before, the weeks before, the late night’s being escorted home, but only in fragments. She would take the first few minutes of that memory, the first hundred paces of that walk, and then she would halt herself and return to her paperwork, welcome the next appointment into her office.

The lines on her arm had long vanished by the time she saw the pirate again. Another warm evening the following week, where she decided to take herself to the tavern for dinner, her craving of the refreshing essence of that pineapple salad dragging her through the last of her paperwork for that day. She had asked Lucy if she wanted to accompany her, as both women had needed to work later than usual, but Lucy apologised and declined, feeling as if she had been away from her father’s side for too long already.

Lena admired such devotion in her assistant; a devotion that she once felt for her father before she was left alone in a world without him. While she was not completely sure of what ailed Lucy’s father – for she had not asked nor been told too much and was not one to pry – she simply took Lucy’s apology as it was and walked to the tavern by herself. She would do something for the other woman the next day, she decided. Perhaps some flowers or giving her more of the day off.

Her musing of what small token she might offer Lucy as she walked soon ended once she arrived at the tavern. It was loud and rowdy, with distinct pats on backs and whistles around for, she soon discovered, a few of the crew of Deo. She ran through her mind quickly as to why that might be and remembered the small note she had passed over a few days ago, stating that Deo would be leaving port. She had relaxed at the note, but forgotten it just as quickly as she had found it, needing to get back to paperwork.

It now seemed that Deo had returned triumphant from whatever venture they had undertaken, and spying the blonde of her affections across the tavern at a table, foot perched up on a seat as she downed a hefty glass of rum, Lena surmised that she should wait a while before finding out precisely what had occurred. She took herself to the counter and leaned over to Cat so that the other blonde may hear, and then took her seat, waiting for her hunger to be quelled.

Almost on cue, she turned herself back to face the tavern’s craziness and saw that Kara was striding towards her, empty bottle of rum in hand and a wet grin on her lips. “Miss Danvers,” Lena said, pushing the thought of kissing those wet lips from her mind unsuccessfully. The noise had not dulled, and so Kara leaned in close to whisper her greeting, her warm breath tickling Lena’s bare neck; the stragglers of her bun dancing at the action. “Why the fuss?” Lena asked as Kara leaned over the bar to put down the empty bottle.

“We have prospects,” Kara simply stated, nodding her thank you to Maggie as she was handed another bottle, this one full of deep, warm rum.

“Oh?”

“Captain J’onzz wanted me to apologise for leaving port so hastily last week,” Kara began, noticing Lena’s sudden shift in gaze. “Although, you perhaps didn’t notice?”

“Paperwork did get the better of me these past few days,” Lena admitted.

“Remind me to distract you then,” Kara cooed, but continued on with her story too quickly to catch Lena’s shock at the flirtation. “We had heard of a lead that might take us to a long-forgotten treasure, and by our joy,” she gestured to the tavern full of singing and drinking sailors, “you can be sure that we were victorious in our plan.”

“Well, I congratulate you then,” Lena said, nodding her head in lieu of toasting the blonde, for she had not yet ordered a drink. “But... long-forgotten? Should this be something I am made aware of?” she asked, genuinely unsure if it was.

“Yes,” another voice came, and it was that of Cat who was placing her salad up on the bar with a glass of rum of her own. “Not every detail, but enough,” she finished, before nodding at Kara and leaving to return to the kitchen.

“Well, I guess that settles it,” Lena said, hoping to hear all the details from Kara. “Perhaps when you have done your celebrating though,” to which Kara nodded gratefully and smiled. At the beckoning of her name (or more precisely the rum that she carried) from across the tavern, Kara stepped away and back to that table, welcomed with more rowdy yells.

Lena finished her meal in somewhat peace and returned to her home before sunset.

~ ~ ~ ~

Two days later, at just after noon when Lena had finally been able to allow Lucy to leave early, there was a knock at the front door of her office, and so she closed her logs and strode to the door. Opening it, she found a bright, beaming face that had a touch of difference to it. Kara smiled widely at Lena, and shifted her shoulder nervously, finding her neck rather bare for a change, perhaps too much of a change. “I like your hair like that,” Lena found herself saying instead of a ‘hello’ to which Kara nervously – again – bowed her head and shifted her shoulder.

“Not my choice, I’m afraid,” Kara said as she stepped in, pulling her long ponytail over her shoulder. When Lena turned back to her after closing the door she found that Kara was slowly unbuttoning the first few buttons of her shirt, and she was stunned into not moving. “It’s the fault, along with Alex, of the Spanish guard to which I essentially stole our intel from,” and at that she dropped her shirt off the back of her shoulders, revealing a rather messy slash from her right shoulder to the bottom point of her left shoulder blade, save a spare inch across her spine where even the tip of that guard’s sword had not reached.

“Oh, Kara,” Lena said, stepping forward and deftly running her fingertips across the edge of Kara’s shirt.

“Alex said that my hair would most likely irritate the wound, hence the new hair arrangement.” Her phrasing made Lena laugh through her frown. “Ideally, I should not be wearing a shirt either, but alas I am a woman.”

“Yes,” Lena whispered, and hadn’t meant for it to be as throaty as it had sounded, but she was very much concerned about the slash, and how it still had a tendency to weep when she pressed at the surrounding skin. “Please allow me to dress this, Kara,” she said, although she would’ve insisted even if Kara had said no.

“I was hoping you would, actually,” the blonde admitted as Lena passed to stand in front of her. “My hand has healed completely, so I know that you know what to do.” Lena smiled gratefully, for it had been her nanny when she was a child who had taught her to mend wounds and rip material to make bandages, remove stains of dirt and blood before reusing that same cloth to dress a wound. Lex had been a most thoughtless child at times when it came to his safety, and so his younger sister had acted as nurse to his many scrapes and wounds when he would come home from school, beaten up from either a friendly game in the yard or a not so friendly tormenting behind a building.

“Follow me,” Lena said, bypassing her office to the stairs and leading Kara up to the kitchen. This time she did not need to turn and make sure that the blonde was behind her for she could hear the gentle scuffing of her boots on the wooden stairs. “Sit backwards on the chair,” she commanded as she pulled it out and continued to her cupboard.

Kara straddled the chair and dropped her shirt again off her back, further still than a few minutes earlier. She remembered the last time she had sat there, although facing the proper way around like a young lady should, and wondered now where that nail had gotten too.

Lena had found that she could not find a bandage or anything long enough to cover the wound, and so she lamented and supposed that she would simply have to insist that Kara remain as shirtless as was possible for the next few days. “So, about this intel...”

“Yes,” Kara seemed to exclaim, for despite the wound on her back, she was in rather high spirits about the whole ordeal. “J’onzz once told us, and has apparently been searching and telling of it for years, that there lay an island not too far from here that was home to a treasure. A ruined family and the proof of the wealth still remained there, buried beneath the sand, or locked up in some rickety old house.”

“This will hurt,” Lena interjected, and so Kara tightened her grip on the back of the chair in front of her, but kept talking to distract herself.

“It had always just remained a story, but then a few days ago, among the many lost and lonesome pirates that made their way through the tavern, Alex’s...” she paused, wincing a little at the pain. “...friend there, Maggie... she had heard from one of them that there was a man who knew all about the treasure. Alex had taken that information to J’onzz, and... I’m not too sure of the details for I was not privy to them, but we had to leave in a hurry,” she finished with a slow breath out, feeling Lena remove both hands from her back, apparently finished. A moment later she returned, soft fingertips teasing the edges of weeping wounds, and so Kara continued. “We found this sailor, who was now a trying businessman trying to work with some Spanish general, and... ow!”

“Sorry,” Lena said, bringing her pinching fingers away from Kara’s wound. She had been trying to expel the dried blood from it by essentially pushing it out by ways of pinching the skin either side. This had obviously been painful and so she returned quickly to dabbing away what she could instead. “This intel is a person, though.”

“Yes. His name is Lord.”

“Does he think highly of himself?” Lena shot.

“Apparently it is his birth name, but from only two days at sea and now two days at dock with him, I can be sure that he does indeed think very highly of himself.”

“I pity you then,” Lena joked.

“So do I,” Kara returned, flexing back muscles unintentionally as the last of the alcohol was dabbed at her wound.

“I would rather you not wear a shirt for the next few days,” Lena said as she stood to return her medical supplies to the cupboard.

“Oh?” Kara asked, knowing that the statement was not meant to be suggestive at all, but of course, she could not help but read it that way.

“Oh, I simply mean so that your wound can air. I cannot find a dressing large enough to cover it all, and I suppose that it should dry out as best as possible for the next few days.”

“I gathered,” Kara said, almost cursing herself for reading too far, or too much in _that_ way, into it. She stood up and turned, pulling her shirt back over her shoulders, but then Lena was reaching out to her.

“Not just yet,” she said, pushing the shirt back whence it came. “I may have something that will work better,” and then she was striding past Kara to scurry up the few extra steps to her room, leaving Kara simply draped in clothing.

She returned a few moments later with a shirt of equal thin substance, but was essentially an undershirt, a vest, that Kara could pull over her head and was loose and low enough at the back to allow the wound to air and be untouched. Kara took it from Lena’s hands and held it in front of her and then up against her. “It has frills.”

“I will have you know that I added the frill myself, thank you very much, and so your tone is not appreciated,” Lena spat, tugging it back down from Kara’s grasp as she attempted to stifle a smile.

“I love it,” Kara said, her tone more kind, if only a touch sarcastic, as she began to pull her own shirt from where it was tucked into her breeches. Lena smiled, quickly and with nerve, knowing that Kara would probably need help to disrobe and robe again, especially as the wound seemed to limit her movements; she did not make a fuss.

Of course, she could have easily allowed herself to blush and turn her back so that Kara may have privacy as she changed, but that was a part of last week’s friendship with flirtation weaselling in. In this moment, Kara would benefit greatly from Lena’s assistance and maturity, and so she did not falter as she tossed the undershirt over the back of the chair and stepped towards Kara. She did not drop her eye contact as she slowly helped Kara pull her arms out from her own shirt. She did not blush as she carefully removed Kara’s shirt from over her head, and took in the makeshift corset that the blonde wore – what could have been a corset was cut shorter so that it supported or contained her breasts but nothing more; merely for practicality sake. Only once she had delicately redressed Kara – head, then arm, and other arm, pulling the shirt down over her wound as the blonde did down her front – did she smile. The shirt fit and would do the job quite well, she decided.

“Thank you,” Kara said, turning to face Lena with a smile. Again, their interaction had grown softer and quiet, much like it had the last time that the brunette was tending to the pirate. “I wish I had more to tell you about this treasure, or intel, but the truth is...”

“You don’t even know,” Lena finished.

“Exactly,” Kara said, picking up her shirt. “I like to think that this is the treasure that J’onzz has been waiting for, if not searching for, his entire life, and so I understand why he is keeping it so closely guarded.”

“And you trust him?”

“With my life,” Kara answered honestly, knowing that Lena still had her reservations.

“I suppose then... I trust him as well.” Kara saw it then, the flicker in the brunette’s gleaming eyes that their interactions, their friendship, for it was that wholeheartedly now, was genuine and not simply a task that was bestowed on Kara. Lena trusted her enough to trust in a pirate captain, and while that could be seen as foolish, and she supposed that the Luthor family would no doubt see it that way, Kara saw it as something completely different.

She saw it as a promise; one that may indeed determine her future.

~ ~ ~ ~

Kara only managed to go ashore a few times over the next few days, and only then was it for necessary supplies or for a short walk; the luxury of visiting Lena was simply out of the question as her specific skills were of requirement onboard Deo. Whilst J’onzz was hoping to acquire information for the treasure in a more civil approach, the man called Lord was proving to make life difficult. With no other leads, and the doubt that any other would arise soon (it had taken J’onzz this many years to get this far), Lord essentially had all the power. Kara could run her sword against his bound arms as many times as she liked, or as J’onzz commanded, but at the end of the day, and there were many ends to days during this process, Lord was the one who knew the next step.

The man wanted money, and J’onzz was loathed to give him any, especially as time dragged on and frustrations grew. It seemed that both men had reached a point where their only commonality was to hold out in spite of the other, and so that is where Kara stepped in. _She_ in turn kindly ordered that J’onzz step out of the small below deck cabin that Lord was being kept in and she would use her kinder voice, and her pretty face to earn slight trust, or at least calm tensions. When Lord was just as defiant, or even more so out of his misogynistic hatred for any woman who was not a whore, Kara stood, stepped closer to him as she pulled out her dagger, and ran it cleanly through his skin, making him cry out.

This was to be a long haul, and so she was careful not to allow too much blood to get away from him, lest it take what little wit he had with it. And so, Lord sat in a growing pool of his own sickly blood, grinning white through the grime and bruising on his face that both Kara and the Spanish had inflicted. It appeared that nothing would stand in the way for his lust for money and power, not even his own mortality.

Come the fourth day, and Lord had barely eaten, and hadn’t moved, Kara sat on a barrel across the cabin from him, carving slices of flesh off an apple with her now cleaned and polished dagger. The door burst open in a flurry, and Winn stood, glistening in the sun’s few rays that reached down this far; it was the hottest day so far this week, and sweating was now a natural part of a person’s existence. “What?” Kara barked for she had to keep up the rouse of a gruff pirate, even if in those long watching hours, her mind had escaped to the softness of Lena’s side.

“J’onzz is ready to deal,” Winn answered, then looked at Lord who had slowly managed to raise his head.

“Alright, you,” Kara said, biting off the last of the flesh from the apple instead, then sheathing her dagger and striding over to the worn man. “Get up,” and she pulled him up in one swift motion. It seemed like such a feat for a moment, but then she realised that she was eating and active, and this remainder of a human had been starved for weeks on end. She felt pity for a moment, sorry for this human, for he still was one, but then his seedy grin was flashed at her and she pushed him away off to Winn and wished that he might soon suffer again at her hand.

She followed them up the stairs and across deck, up to the bridge and to J’onzz’s door. Alex opened it and grabbed the man, nodding to Kara to stand watch outside. At that, the door closed again and Kara could finally look at the day that she had missed so far. Up at dawn to watch their prisoner and now it was nearing lunch and she hadn’t seen the sun that day at all. She still couldn’t, for it was uncharacteristically overcast at the present time, but still humid enough to warrant sweat from her hairline no matter how often she wiped it away.

Again, time dragged on. The door behind her seemed to stay closed for hours, but then again, when one was simply standing still for a time, time itself became warped and neither got away nor passed at all.

When the rumbles in her stomach had grown closer together and louder, the door handle turned behind her and Kara stepped ahead of herself to the centre of the bridge, turning around to face whomever stepped out first. Instinct and good training brought her hand to the handle of her sword, for on the occasion that it was Lord opening the door, but when she saw that it was Alex, she relaxed. Even so, her sister’s hand was not gripped firmly around their _guest’s_ arm and so her hand remained at her side.

“Mr. Lord,” Kara frowned at Alex’s words, “is to be escorted off the ship and taken to the tavern so that he may eat.” Alex then turned her head to Winn at the stairs who whistled and beckoned two of the crew forward to take responsibility of Lord. Soon, the three men were off the ship, and Lord seemed to be no more an issue for them.

“So, all is well?” Kara asked of J’onzz as he stepped out.

“Yes, begrudgingly. Mr. Lord’s information has been purchased and so hopefully he will no longer cause issue with us. Now if you’ll excuse us,” J’onzz said as he gestured for Winn to follow, “We will be hopefully locating our treasure.” That was that; the door closed and seemed to end the conversation and chapter. Yet, Kara still felt uneasy, and Alex could read it on her face.

“J’onzz’s good nature and civility had better not get us into trouble,” the elder Danvers said.

“I know that he tries to be good, but his trust is so often reserved that when he does place it somewhere...”

“It is misplaced instead,” Alex finished and Kara nodded. She did not like to speak ill of her captain, but criticism was sometimes a necessary aspect of learning. She also knew that her concerns were shared by Alex, and would not be shared with anyone else, so she was safe in that regard.

“But should things go wrong, remember,” and then Kara tapped her fingers to her temple. Alex nodded through the slight fear she had of her sister, and walked off to go about her day. Kara did the same, but first, she decided that she must eat.

~ ~ ~ ~

A week had passed since Lena had seen Kara, or really anyone from Deo, but she knew that this was due as they were both fairly busy with their own ventures. She passed Alex on her way out of the tavern one day after she had finished her lunch, and noticing that the blonde of the sisters was not accompanying her, Lena decided that a simple nod and smile would do as she exited the establishment, intent on having a quiet few minutes before her next meeting.

When two weeks had passed, her fingers began to itch, and not entirely from not seeing the object of her affection. Painfully, she was more focussed on running her port effectively and fairly, and as that was a tricky issue with Deo, she had recalled her paperwork from meeting with Captain J’onzz, and also her sort of manual as to protocols for the town. Busy days still followed, but in her quiet times, the voice in her head and the voice of Lucy recounting Deo’s permanence at the dock grew to irritate Lena more.

She knew very well of what Deo offered the port and what benefit a kindly partnership granted her mayorship, but laws were still laws, even for a pirate, and so after two weeks and four days of Deo not leaving port, Lena wrote a letter to the captain, simply reminding him of his obligation and need to pay tax on being there for too long. She was nervous to hand the letter to Lucy, and even more so to see it taken by the messenger the following morning down the street that lead directly to the docks.

Of course, she could not write such a thing in an accusatory tone, nor a friendly one, and she had never written anything like this yet in her leadership, and so an air of formality laced the letter that she hoped would be respected and not taken offence at. She had said, yes, Deo would have a certain privy to her running of the port. Yes, Deo would have preferential opinions to certain issues should they arise. Yes, Deo would be a sort of silent partner and would be allowed a number of privileges because of that. But at such a point in time that she was discussing these things with Captain J’onzz, not every specificity was in fact specified.

And so, the privilege of not paying over-docked tax might be applicable to Deo as they offered a protection and reputation that Lena would not be able to manage on her own, but when it reached almost three weeks, she was simply unsure. Hence, the letter. It was a question of sorts, and after releasing it to the messenger, she realised that she perhaps should have simply phrased it as a question, instead of whatever it was that she had managed to write, which _she_ knew sounded like a question, but also now knew that _J’onzz_ may see it as a request, an order. An order for him to pay tax.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was worth the extra day wait.... I'm probably sounding so dramatic by missing a day lol but I really hope that this was good for you all! Let me know what you think xo


	9. CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER NINE

 

Thump. Thump. Thump. The constant thrumming of her heart beat in her ears, as the already too hot day grew even more so, and her hands rested against the sun-soaked wood of the rail. Alex’s monotonous beating of the hammer across deck seemed to go in time with Kara’s pulse in her ears, or maybe it was only the hammer she was hearing? But then Alex would stop, turn, slide down the wall of the ship and sit in the few inches of shade that the sails cast down upon them, and Kara would hear the thumps continue.

She heard so much sometimes that it had once been hard to, in a sense, drown it out with the ocean waves surrounding her so that she may sleep, breathe, exist without anyone’s noise but her own. Even then, to halt her own thoughts for a time would offer a recluse she dreamed of but had not yet found.

And then she’d met Lena. The brunette in her complexity and demure presentation, only to let out the sharpest of breaths at Kara’s touch, and slouch so very much unlike a lady should when she was comfortable enough. Kara’s mind seemed to wander and get lost in Lena and her mystery, always pleasantly surprised when she learnt something new about her, although such facts had indeed been rare, especially from the mayor’s own lips. Most of what she knew of the Luthor was gossip and a reputation that preceded her.

As Kara stared out and up to the few clouds of the day, their whiteness blinding and hypnotic, she wondered when she would learn a fact, a truth at that, from Lena herself. In the quietness that was their interactions she longed for a small secret, an exposure of some part of the brunette that had never been known or seen by anyone else before. She continued to gaze at the sky, almost in a trance, the clouds’ shapes shifting form and seeming to flicker with the sense of hallucination, before the steady steps of someone up the gangplank dragged her back.

She blinked hurriedly, intent on clearing the bright blue haze from her vision so that she may see who was approaching; the crew in its entirety were already on board, so she furrowed her brow at the stranger. Still unclear on who it was, her eyes still unable to capture a feature clearly, she stepped forward and under the shade of a sail, hoping that that might aid her. It was a man, a boy and his steps had been nervous, almost as nervous as Lena’s had been when she had walked up the gangplank over a month ago.

_A month?!_ Kara’s mind seemed to scream. She had barely seen the other woman in half that time, but knew for certain that they, Deo, had been at dock for most of it. A rarity, but not unheard of for them, and yet she knew that it had never been an issue before. The issue being that tax was indeed a thing and that Deo so often skipped out on it based upon the shared collaboration or partnership with _Cat_. But alas, Kara now knew, despite the new mayor boarding Deo and seeming to keep things clear with J’onzz, that Lena was not Cat.

Of course, she had not been privy to the conversation, and could in no way be sure of this tax being an issue, but she also had no way of being sure that it wasn’t. She did not reach this stranger in time to either take the letter from him nor enquire as to its possible contents, for Vasquez had strode up to him as he was on the verge of actually stepping aboard, and taken the letter from him. Down the gangplank he had scuttled, leaving Vasquez approaching J’onzz’s cabin door, and Kara still blinking to regain her vision.

At the opening and closing of the captain’s door, Kara’s mind had switched back to the monotonous thrumming of her heartbeat from the crazed buzzing that had been there in the presence of this letter. Her ears were getting no use out of all this noise that she was registering and felt as if that may mean she was soon to get an ache in her head, behind eyes and at the base of her skull. The heat of the day was enough to drive her into a sort of temper, and did not want such an impending pain to worsen it, so she took herself below deck to the kitchens for a few hand scoops of the cooler water that the cook kept in a barrel.

“It’s like that, isn’t it?” Kara heard as she was slapping palm to face in an effort to down the most water as fast as she could. She turned to see Winn wiping at his brow and recalled seeing the young man exit J’onzz’s cabin as the letter had been passed over.

“A plan yet?” she asked, in reference to their possible treasure that was to be sought.

“Not yet,” he grumbled, now craning his neck around to stretch it before waiting for Kara to step aside, then lapping at the water as messily as she had. Seeing that Winn was perhaps intent more on drowning himself in the cool water than continuing a conversation, she went back up to the deck where the sun was still beating down.

It was on days like these that Kara longed so much for even just a quick sprinkling of rain; not lasting too long, perhaps just a minute. If she stared out to sea long enough, again without blinking, and squinted just a little she thought she could imagine it almost there. Her head still thumped along with her heartbeat and her eyes were a little sore, a little fuzzy, but she knew at least that soon all of the repair jobs for the ship would be done and they could all venture ashore for some at least slightly cool rum out of the sun.

It was not even midday yet, but she could feel in herself as well as see it in her crew around her, that the heat of the day was slowly rendering them tired with lack of energy and motivation. It had been a long few weeks for Deo, as the captain, along with Winn, Alex, and sometimes Vasquez, plotted and replotted maps of where this treasure may be. It had been a few days ago when Alex had skipped up to her in the tavern with a mischievous grin planted across her face that told Kara that they were close.

And while that was certainly true, they had been one step, one degree closer each day, and yet still seemed to be so far away from it. J’onzz was wracking his brain, and flipping through old note books for any new clue he could find, but of course had never written down. All that they had to find this treasure was already at the captain’s fingertips, and yet no one could make heads nor tails of any of it well enough to come close to pinpointing a location. All of this, and neither Lord’s secret information seemed to make a difference to their efforts.

Kara wondered, as she slid down the rail wall next to Alex – who had not moved an inch – what exactly all the bits of information were that J’onzz had collated. She wondered what they had discovered so far and what else there was to discover. She wondered what notes they had made. She wondered if all they needed was a fresh set of eyes, for only four people knew of what the plans were, what the course might be, and yet they had not come up with anything between them.

Kara wondered, as she rested her head to Alex’s shoulder, if she might happen upon an answer, a path, or even just a next clue if she could have a look. But of course, whilst she was a good pirate, she was there with the extension of her sword. She was the inflictor of pain, and gainer of information from such an infliction. She was not considered the brains or wit, and why would she be? She was the younger sister of an exceptional pirate, the girl who had been essentially lost at sea and could barely remember her mother unless she thought intently on her for a while, the back-pocket helper with a pretty face whose only claim to fame was her competitiveness that drove her to being an excellent swordswoman.

She was brave, and smart, and capable of many a great thing, and _she_ knew it, Alex knew it, she even dared to hope that Lena knew it, but that is not at all what she needed to know. “Tired, little one?” Alex’s voice soothed, at hearing Kara’s breath grow deeper in an almost primal and aggressive way.

“No progress is being made.”

“One step at a time,” Alex assured, her hand coming up to stroke at Kara’s greasy smooth hair.

“It’s not fast enough, Alex,” Kara almost whined. She did not want to sound like a petulant child, but there truly was nothing happening, and even if it were, none outside the captain’s cabin knew. For all Kara knew, they could essentially be drowning. “He cannot be sure that none of us would be able to see something that he hasn’t. What if you’ve all been staring at it straight on for so long that you’ve become blinded to it?”

“Is that what you think?”

“I don’t know,” Kara mumbled, lifting her head and pulling her legs up to her chest, before uncomfortably shooting them back out again. It was too warm to comfort herself with hugging her knees. “I don’t know what I think. It’s too hot and too monotonous... and empty.” Kara had not meant to say that she felt empty, that anything was empty, and especially to Alex, but she had. She was tired and uncomfortable and so it had just slipped out.

A year ago, a young woman had wandered into the tavern looking lost yet oddly in command of the space while Alex and Kara had been having a drink. It was a Sunday and so most people were laid up in bed nursing a hangover or cradling a lover from the night before in their arms, but Alex and Kara only ever seemed to have themselves.

Then this girl had walked in and asked to see the owner, M’Gann, and Kara had pointed over to the bar as Alex had sat stunned. Maggie was beautiful, and short despite her air of power, but Kara had seen Cat in all her barefoot shortness command ten burly pirates of almost twice her height out of her office, so she supposed short women needed to have that sometimes. She had watched Maggie walk to the counter and greet M’Gann, be led to the kitchen, and then turned her head back to look at Alex. Poor, instantly love-struck Alex, who had barely managed to move on with life past watching Maggie walk away.

Poor love-struck Alex had remained so for a long while, and then finally when their travels on Deo had taken them away for almost a month, Alex had woken Kara with a tap to the forehead one night, beckoning her to follow her upstairs to talk, and the elder Danvers had said that for all her joy and feeling for Maggie, she now felt so entirely empty. Because she was without her.

“You feel empty?” Alex asked Kara, slouching a bit to bend forward and catch her sister’s eye. “Because we haven’t been doing anything?” Kara only hummed a generic hum, one that could be taken for yes, or no, or maybe, or anything really. “Kara? Is this about Cat?” And Alex knew that it most likely wasn’t, for she had barely seen the former mayor, nor heard of her from Kara in weeks, almost months.

“Well...” Kara said, looking up just enough so that her eyes locked with Alex’s and she supposed all her thoughts and feelings were conveyed with just one look.

“I won’t ask who it is, for that is up to you to tell me, as I’ve said.”

“Thank you,” Kara said, although she had a feeling in her gut that made her wonder what she had even been thankful for.

“But I will say that I have an idea of who it is, and I might surmise that it will end in one of two ways.” Kara had not uttered the Luthor’s name near Alex in the entire time that she had known her, unless it was of practical business, but she also knew that her sister saw things, saw her, in ways that no one else did. Alex had always been her sister, her friend, and the one person who knew her better than she knew herself, so of course, the blonde need not have mentioned Lena. She was never entirely sure how Alex knew, but she always knew just the same.

Kara looked up at her big sister more expectantly now, hoping for her wisdom to ease whatever this boring day had spurred in her and needing her to continue. “Hmm?”

“It will either end harshly, abruptly, maybe even painfully.”

“Or?” and Kara did so very much hope for that ‘or’ to be good.

“Or it won’t end at all,” and at this Kara furrowed her brow so Alex went on. “You know that, of course, you must do what is right by this ship and our captain, stay true to the oath that you swore when you joined.” Kara nodded. “But you must also stay just as true to yourself, and do what is right by your heart.” Leaving her in thought, Alex stood and returned to her hammering.

Kara stood and touched Alex’s shoulder as she stepped away, indeed in thought, with a hint of a smile tugging at her lips, but in that instant, the door to J’onzz’s cabin swung open, no... slammed open, and her name was being bellowed across the deck.

Whatever lasting essence of emptiness sat in her that was now filled with hope – for what, she was unsure of just yet, because of course she felt herself being drawn to Lena; her thoughts, her eyes, even her body seemed to want to be back in the brunette’s presence, but she was not entirely sure as yet as to what that all clearly meant – drained from her body much like the blood from her face, and was replaced with a shock of fear that she had not experienced in many years at the captain’s shouting of her name. Not even the tip of a blade pointed at her throat drove as much adrenaline to shake her core as J’onzz’s unyielding roar.

She speedily made her way across the deck and up the stairs, taking two at a time, to reach the captain’s side as soon as she could. She could still hear the thumping of her pulse in her ear as she stepped up to him, although it was a little faster at this point, but at the shift of his expression, seemingly noticing hers, she calmed as well. “I do apologise, Kara,” he said in what came out as a whisper in comparison to his earlier exclamation. “I am not angry with you,” and she calmed even further still. “I have just received a letter, you see,” he said, extending his arm into his cabin so that she may enter.

It was the first time in weeks, in the time since a deal had been brokered between Deo and Mr Lord, that she had stepped foot in this cabin. Not that it had been a common occurrence for her at all in her time as part of the Deo crew, but it was still a fact that she noted upon stepping into the darker space. She saw, before J’onzz stepped around her to his desk, the plethora of maps and charts and, _is that the night sky?_ scattered about a table – far too small for them all – in the corner of the room. She frowned at them, as if they were an old friend and were keeping a secret from her, but then J’onzz was passing her and so she relaxed her features.

“This letter, you see, is from our dear mayor,” and Kara felt that uneasiness return, and in tenfold when she looked down to see the once crumpled letter flattened as much as it could be on her captain’s desk. It was certainly in a much better condition when arriving on the ship, and so Kara could tell that her fluctuating temperament was not the only one present on board that day. “And she has, mistakenly or not, requested, ever so formally, that we pay tax for being docked for too long.”

“I see,” Kara said. She was sure this was a mistake, indeed; simply Lena not sure entirely as to how _everything_ was to be done in Port Nationale, but of course, it would be safer for her to agree passively with her captain at the present time.

“I will ask you to now read this letter,” for he knew that she was of the few on board that could, “and you shall tell me if I am wrong.” Again, Kara felt that uneasiness, and she almost longed for the confusion of feeling empty, but she took the letter anyway as it was passed to her. Her eyes scanned the words, Lena’s words, and took them in, took it all in. The loop of her letters and the mere fraction of the quill touching the paper as it moved to the next letter or word. The flow of one letter cursively to the next as if it were a dance between ink and paper, conducted by Lena’s only slightly nervous hand. The sizeable full stop at the end of the letter before her signature, as if she had held the quill above for a moment in contemplation before pressing down and making the request finite.

And then of course, her name. Kara stared at Lena’s name, and Luthor as well, for how the L’s were different between the two. She had been signing the letter for years now, perhaps on behalf of her brother many times in the one day, and yet the one at her given name was kinder, prouder, and at Luthor it stood stoic yet tainted. The ink seemed to run undesirably.

“Well,” J’onzz began in question, and so Kara quickly read the letter again as she opened her mouth to speak.

“Surely, it is a question of...” she looked up and saw her captain’s scowl. Her brain hurried around itself to finish the sentence in any other way than she had intended, in any other way than, ‘whether she needs to ask tax of you, and she is unsure, so she’s asking,’ and decided upon, “what should we do next?” and at that, J’onzz seemed to... smirk? “A letter in return,” she suggested with an approaching look of apprehension. “Or a _message_ of another form.”

J’onzz seemed to glow at the word, and straightened his previously worn posture as he replied, “ah, my messenger.”

Kara could hardly remember the exact words of the conversation, or the order that followed, besides the words ‘tonight’ ‘asleep’ and the kindly reminder to sharpen her dagger. She stepped out of the captain’s cabin almost as pale as she was when she had stepped in, for now she knew that her order was to draw blood from Lena’s already deathly skin.

“Kara,” Alex said, although it was all a blur as she passed her sister on her way to – she frowned at herself in disbelief – sharpen her dagger. “Kara!” a bit firmer this time and Alex was grabbing at the thin straps of Lena’s shirt that Kara still wore. It was darker now, laced with sweat and spilled rum, but Kara liked to imagine that it still smelt of the brunette. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” Kara almost barked, for she had to keep this to herself. She could not let Alex see, anyone see, how terrified she was to confront Lena, although she wondered if it was really a confrontation if the mayor was to be asleep when she arrived. “I have to deliver a message tonight, is all.”

“Oh,” Alex said, letting go of Kara’s... Lena’s shirt. Kara smiled at her sister as she furrowed her brows a little, as if to turn the tables and make Alex seem as if she was the one who was feeling a little off.

“Take a break soon,” Kara commanded, with a gentle stroke to the other woman’s arm, and then she turned and went below. Her footsteps had sounded clumpy, far more heavy than any weight she was, as she descended the stairs to her bunk where she kept the dagger slipped inside a pocket of her bunk.

Her blade was sharp, but for what she needed – or rather, J’onzz needed – it to do, the blade had to be the finest form of sharp. Kara scoffed at herself as she returned to deck, with dagger and sharpening stone in hand, rounding the edge of the deck until she found a small nook, shady and a few degrees cooler, to sit. At this point of her task, she would usually recall past _messages_ that she had passed along, and would run through her mind the successful series of events that proceeded the message being delivered.

She had a darker shirt to wear for such occasions, so that she was unseen by the night’s eye, and a boy’s lost pick so that she may enter into any house or establishment, and smirk at locksmiths and their sureness that _their_ locks were the most secure. She would enjoy her time in said place, finding her silent footing about the floors, the stairs – which boards creaked, which ones were looser and perhaps contained a secret beneath – as well as helping herself to the kitchen. A wealthy house oft stored a finer, more ripe fruit than Deo ever saw, and Kara did only need the one hand for her job.

When she stood facing the sea, and the moon was over her right shoulder, its beams slicing down to angle her shadow, everyone was asleep. Maids, servants, children, and of course, the person she was to relay her message to. Occasionally, the household had dogs, but Kara was most fortunate to be the kind of person that animals felt relaxed around and so would obey her command to halt and stay quiet; either that or her light steps woke the dog none at all.

The blade was silent, as silent as her steps and her breath, and when these nights were called upon and her skills were required, when she stepped foot in a house to which would soon house drops of blood as well, those moments were the only times when her head was vacant of sound. Not her inner voice, her heart beat, not a thing made a noise to her beyond the shocked gasp when people awoke, but of course, she was back into the streets by then, and only a note remained in her place.

But now, as she sharpened her dagger, her mind was not, and would not, go to such a routine thought. Her breaths were sharp, cooling in her nose, and painful in her skull. This blade that she held, that she ran her thumb against, and then a rag, was not to touch another thing after being perfected until it was to touch Lena’s perfect skin.

Cat had never become the object of J’onzz’s wrath before, for she knew how things were to be run before the ship of god ever saw her port, but Lena – poor, fresh, naïve Lena – was good, and hopeful and trusting beyond logic, but now she was to also be scarred as well. Kara was to slip off the ship in the dead of night with a note from J’onzz, a small black circle drawn on its folded back, was to slip through the streets with more determination than that moonlight to find dark corners, and was to slip into Lena’s home.

Through Lucy’s office, up the stairs – she already had memorised by habit which stairs made a sound – with a familiar and only slightly audible drag of her fingertips against the wall, to the few steps that took her to Lena’s door, slightly ajar to allow as much cool air in as possible. Another few steps, quieter even than the silence before, and then to pause.

There she stood. Hours had passed and rum had been consumed, Alex had queried to her worry, but of course, it was, “nothing, Alex! Pour us another glass,” and then her mind had slipped back into the concern that she carried in each approaching step until she finally, the moon over her right shoulder, began her final steps to Lena. The door had been harder to pick because of trembling hands, and she was terrified that eyes of the night were on her as hers were soon to be on Lena, but she was only imagining it. Everyone was asleep. The port, the ship, J’onzz in his cabin nursing an empty bottle of rum under his wing, and Lena.

Lena lay so calmly, her hair splayed across the pillow like a cloud had placed her as such, and her arms were resting aside her head against the edge of the pillow as well. Only a sheet covered her, and Kara’s heart skipped a beat when she thought that Lena might be naked underneath it, but then saw the straps of a night dress through her hair.

She was now standing at the side of Lena’s bed, frozen, for she could hear her heart beat in her ears. She could hear her breaths and no matter how much she seemed to scream at herself, they would not quiet and she was sure of the impending issue that was about to rain down upon her when Lena shifted in her bed. Kara’s hand had not even moved to her side yet, where her dagger was stashed; instead fingertips were being uncurled, stretched, and graced upon soft white sheets.

She had known all day, since J’onzz’s command had reached her ears, that this task would be near impossible to complete, but now as she stood above the brunette, this woman of immense beauty and wonder, Kara found herself merely unable to control her breaths, let alone grasp her dagger and drag its blade against the skin of Lena’s neck – a neck she would much rather caress and whisper her apology to in that moment.

The best she could hope to do for everyone involved would be to simply leave the note and make a run for it, but then of course, J’onzz would still find out about Kara’s incompletion of the order. A dagger drawn smoothly down the neck at least an inch, so that the bearer may feel the sting of their actions and so that Captain J’onzz may see the evidence of remorse setting in. Kara had wondered why a full slit of the throat was not warranted – although in dire cases, it was – but then she saw it on a man who had wronged Deo when he went to the tavern to drown his sorrows. J’onzz would see the mark, but then, of course, so could everyone else. And after enough wrongs had been made, a simple line of wounded flesh along the neck was trade mark of someone’s mistake at having crossed the captain.

He was a fair captain, and granted them their lives, but took their pride for his victory in lieu of whatever prize had been promised to him but taken by the bearer.

Kara’s eyes latched onto a freckle of Lena’s neck and cursed its meek presence on the brunette’s ghostly skin, and could now barely imagine what a line of blood would make her feel. Guilt, and her own remorse, but also a loss, for she knew that any friendship or want of something else, something more, that she felt for Lena would soon be shadowed over by those regretting emotions. Whether Lena was to know that it was Kara who had wounded her or not, Kara at least wound know, and that was enough for her to take a step back, reaching to her pant pocket for the note with a single small circle on its back.

A black mark was to show a severe warning, but J’onzz preferred a solitary circle as a more preliminary warning. That and the scar would surely work well enough.

In her worry, and the shuffle of hand in pocket, Kara stepped back onto a board she had not surveyed and a creak rang through the room. Her shallow breath caught in her throat and she closed her eyes as if to hope to awaken from a dream, a nightmare, but she knew far too well that this was worse than even her haunting dreams could produce. She opened them again and saw Lena, pushing herself up in her bed, awake and aware.

“Lena, please-“

“Kara?” Lena’s rough voice sounded, softly and accompanied by the back of her hand brought to her eyes to rub. “What are you doing here?”

“I...” Kara began, but of course, she had never had to bluff her way out of this situation before and so was stumped and at a loss for words. She took a step forward, bringing her hand back out of her pocket, empty, and apologised just the same. “I’m sorry,” she said, but it was almost a gasp, and oh, how she wished her mind would quiet. Her heart beat, her breaths, her screams still ringing, and now the shuffle of sheets as Lena edged herself out of bed and stepped closer to the pirate.

It was a mistake, and Kara knew it, but she took another step towards the other woman, whose face was cast in moonlight from the open window, and breathed again. Her head felt dizzy and still pained at the back of her skull from the glaring sunshine of the day, but now that the night was brought to her, and Lena’s soft appearance along with it, Kara felt dizzy. Lost. Floaty.

And then she felt shocked.

Lena’s hand came up to caress the pirate’s cheek, and she smiled, the back of her fingers feeling cooler than they were against Kara’s flushed skin. “You’re nervous?” she asked, although Kara in her clouded state took it as a statement and nodded in agreement just the same.

“I had to.... but I w...” she did not known at all what she was trying to voice; her feelings were all muddled yet bursting in sincere clarity at the same time and she turned her cheek into Lena’s cupping hand this time, suddenly noticing the burn of her lips. They were dry and hot now from her breaths, and perhaps from Lena’s too, as the brunette was even closer to her with this second touch than she had been with the first.

“Shhh,” Lena hushed, and Kara wished that it was all that it took for everything to be quiet. She begged for the quiet but her mind was still racing, a cacophony of sirens and crashes, dull hums and piercing shouts. J’onzz’s order echoed in her head, louder above the rest, and she closed her eyes, shut them tight and wanted it all to stop. She wanted for the noise to stop and for her temperament to ease and for life to be as sweet and simple as Lena’s hand on her cheek.

Lena’s hand was on her cheek and while it was everything so alive, she felt it as nothing in comparison to everything else in that moment. Her dagger was long forgotten, the letter in her pocket as well, and all she had was the noise and the hand that was wanting to drown it all out. Her face looked pained, her lips taught and eyes straining from behind lids, and then there was a breath tickling across it all that seemed to feel like safety. She opened her eyes, and saw her.

Lena was reading her face, regarding her contorting worry, and looked up at Kara still as if she was all the stars in the night sky. “What is wrong?” Lena asked, quieting her voice so much at the end that the utterance of _my love_ was inaudible, but Kara could see it on her lips just the same.

Her mind raced for words, sentences, anything that could help her in this moment, but she also knew that she knew not what would help her. She knew not what would grant her relief from the pain of this moment, nor the safety, except, “Lena...” she whispered, and all in a moment, slowed and with determination, the brunette rose on her toes, bringing her lips to Kara’s as if to pass words of a safe haven through a kiss.

It was only her second kiss with a woman, and this so very different to the first, but again the whisper in her veins seemed to tell Lena that this was where she was meant to be. The flash of memory from years ago in a gentleman’s club reminded her of things that had happened in that embrace, but she knew now was not the time for such things to reoccur; nor did she want this to end just yet either. The hand at Kara’s cheek slipped around and through disheveled hair to cup and then scratch hypnotically at the base of the pirate’s skull as her lips relaxed but kept pressure.

She brought her lips back together more definitively around Kara’s bottom lip now, and with a gentle rock back of her head, seemed to ask Kara to follow her, which she did. Lena’s other hand came to Kara’s side and slid up against noticeably clean shirt material to the back of the blonde’s ribs. She pressed against her, pulling her towards her even more as she tilted her head and deepened their lips’ embrace, daring to pour hot breath and her tongue onto Kara’s mouth.

Her hand at Kara’s neck scratched and began to massage as her other hand dragged to Kara’s waist where she squeezed, grabbing a fistful of shirt in the move. But then Kara was pulling away with a muttering of unsureness and so Lena let her go, stepped back a little and breathed out. All air escaped her lungs and she felt crushed as Kara’s face returned to that contorted confusion; she realised it. While that kiss felt so right for Lena, she now saw that it was perhaps so wrong for Kara.

“Kara, I’m sorry; I’m so sorry,” she flustered, bringing her fingers to her lips involuntarily, so at least she could still touch Kara there. “I thought that was why you came here...”

“No,” Kara seemed to cry, with more breath in that one word than Lena felt at all in her lungs. But then the blonde seemed to correct herself, as if that ‘no’ was a lie. “You... I... ugh,” she groaned. “Form a sentence, Danvers!” and if it weren’t for the worsening shift of the moment, Lena would’ve laughed. “I came here because of your letter,” and then it was Lena’s turn to close her eyes in a flurry of emotion; regret, mistake, fear.

“I knew I should’ve rewritten it,” she said to herself, but then Kara was taking her hand.

“I am the messenger. I pass along notes,” she explained as she pressed the letter into the mayor’s hand; Kara’s hand, the letter, Lena’s hand and then Kara’s below it: a hold that neither of them had prepared for but still somehow imagined would be different. “When a person is caught in mistake at the expense of Captain J’onzz, I am sent, in the dead of night to deliver them a message.”

“Why not simply slide it under the front door?” Lena asked naively, and so Kara stepped back just enough to unsheathe her dagger, it’s sharpness against the leather pouch it lived in sounding swift. “Oh...”

“I draw blood, and deliver desired results; that is what I do, that is my job!” Kara could hear her voice raising, and the fear in Lena’s eyes growing, and so she took a breath. Sliding the dagger back into its pouch, and retaking Lena’s hands as she stepped closer, she whispered, “but I could not do it to you. I was ordered to; to mark your neck so that the world can see it just as much as he can. I will suffer for not having done it, but I do not care.” Kara shook her head at herself, before looking up and meeting those crystalline green eyes again. “I cannot harm you, Lena.”

At that she ducked her head just enough to bring their foreheads together, but then with a subtle squeeze of Lena’s hands around the crumpling letter, Kara slipped away through the door she came and quietly returned to the ship.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhhhh I hope you guys enjoyed!! I really loved writing this chapter (as I'd been waiting for it to arrive as much as you guys hopefully!) Let me know what you think and how you're feeling about the story so far. Keen to hear your thoughts xo


	10. CHAPTER TEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we get into this, I simply want to say how much all of your feedback meant to me after the last chapter. It is so humbling and reassuring to know that the people (even that there ARE people) on the end of this story are sincerely enjoying where I'm taking these characters. I hope that this chapter is a welcome and as well-enjoyed follow up to the events of the last chapter. Much love, now go and read!

CHAPTER TEN

 

The sand of the docks squeaked underneath her staggered footing, scuffing beneath boots as Kara, her mind still someplace else, made her way back to Deo. She had worried in her first footsteps out of Lena’s doorway that she had not completed her task, and would therefore suffer for it tomorrow or whenever J’onzz found out about Lena’s untouched neck, but could not find the determination to turn around, let alone stop. She told herself that at least the letter was in Lena’s hands.

Her hands; that Kara had held and felt on her cheek. Her own cheeks that had grown warm with nerve and then burning with... something she had never felt before; desire, perhaps? And not alike any attraction she had felt for Cat in the past either. This one coursed through her veins and seemed to echo in her breaths as if it were practically calling for Lena to taste it. Her lips had been dry and beckoning, and she found them wanting of so much more than pressure and the slight sharpness of teeth; she had wanted to inflict those sensations as well.

But her head had grown cloudy with Lena’s hands on her and her tongue almost in her, her breaths breathing _Kara_ in just as much as she was breathing air in, and in a sudden moment of clarity – too clear – Kara’s mind had been reclaimed and she had stepped back with utterances of disappointment in herself. She had gotten distracted, bewildered, tempted, and now she had crossed a line that she couldn’t very well recross in attempts to now harm Lena; not that she would have been able to do that before the kiss as it was.

The kiss, and it’s clouding enchantment, washed over Kara as she thought more clearly upon it with hard boot now coming down heavily to the deck. She softened her next step with a face of regret at having made the noise, and prepared to head below. But ah, the noise. She could still hear her boots steps, shuffle, and even the rub of her heal against the worn leather seemed to make a noise, as well as her breaths, still uneasy; but her mind was quiet.

She had stepped out of the cloud when she had stepped out of the kiss, but even now as she was back on her ship, her home, and was stepping up to the rail with the notches in the wood, she still felt a sense of cloudiness that graced her. One not dissimilar to if she had been physically affected by a drug or the rum that so often flowed through her. She closed her eyes, darkness saving her from gazing upon the mayoral office, and found herself reliving the kiss, or at least the moments up until it. She could feel her knees seem to shiver under her weight, and her fingertips grow cold – almost painfully so – and then the noise in her head and her heart was rapid fire and she could not tell where one beat ended and the next began, where one thought of regret vanished and a new one of exhilaration took its place. All she knew was that her body felt cold while her breath felt hot, and then Lena’s hand was on her cheek and she felt touched by a presence of calm.

Lena rose to kiss her and she felt that calm roll through her as she felt herself not step away, but rather duck her head just enough to meet the brunette; and then the noise... It was gone. The racing thoughts that plagued her every day were silenced, shut up as effectively as she very well was by having another’s mouth on hers. Her hands still felt like ice, with the sweat slicking down her inner forearm, and so she did not hold nor grab at Lena, but welcomed those warmer hands on hers in return.

The cold cloudiness, the numbing release, yet the vibration of Lena’s hum on every nerve in her lips, was not unlike to the times where she was pushed underwater by Alex mid-play, or had dived overboard to save a fellow shipmate. She could sense that something was going on around her, near her, there was noise and movement, but it did not matter outside of the moment she was in. She had been digging her nails into Alex’s leg to get her to help her up through those muffled big-sister laughs; she had been grabbing, pulling, pushing on her shipmate as the fast stream of bubbles tickled her nose as they came out; she had been breathing in deeply and furrowing her eyebrows as Lena had wrapped her arms, her fingers, her lips around the pirate and pulled her closer.

Nothing outside of Lena kissing her mattered, until it did. She cursed herself as she picked her fingernails at the notches in the rail, wracking her brain as to why she had ever had to leave such a kiss, again lost in those too-loud thoughts, but then a hand had come to her shoulder, warm and with a squeeze.

“Danvers,” J’onzz’s voice came through the night breeze. “A good venture ashore, I trust?”

She could not lie, but she also could not _not_ lie, and so, “the message was received.” It was true in her mind; not a lie but also not the whole truth for that written message did indeed sit slightly crumpled in Lena’s hand that very second, but she still could not explain the distinct lack of mayoral blood on her dagger. Thankfully, her word was trusted by the captain, and so it was left at that. He patted her shoulder once more with a contented hum, and left, aimed with heading back to his cabin for sleep. Kara surmised that she should also retire to her bunk, and take advantage of her mind being at least on a quieter volume.

With that thought, and the onset of dropping eyelids, she continued her scuffing steps down to her hammock and rocked in, closing her eyes to think again of that kiss before sleep finally came easily.

~ ~ ~ ~

The sun had long risen by the time Kara’s eyes fluttered open. The gentle sway of her hammock as safe ocean waves rocked against the side of the ship, drew the sunlight to flicker in through the small port window across the cabin from her. It flashed at her eyelids until she crept slowly out of dreams to awaken. Her dreams were all ones that had plagued her before; mystery and confusion as to why she had been ascending the staircase at Lena’s and how, despite the dark, she knew where her footing should be and where the rail ended at the top.

She now, with a waking deep breath, and the sudden and decisive opening wide of her eyes to gaze about the empty cabin, knew that her dreams had somehow predicted her delivery of the message to the mayor. She knew that Lena in all her kindness and good hopes would misread a situation, or fault at the new running of things – a pretty young girl who knew how to handle a business dignitary from New York, but was unaccustomed to the likes of pirates who were sometimes as temperamental as the ocean – and that Kara would eventually be called upon to deliver a message. It was the age-old tale of her existence as part of Deo, she realised; someone new would arrive and shake things up and would need to be brought back down a rung or two.

In the moments of whispered friendship and cooling touches, Kara noted now that she had forgotten such _traditions_ herself. She had gotten caught up in Lena. As she raised her head to quickly scout the corners of the cabin behind her, seeing that they too were empty, she thought back on the night before and how she had so easily gotten lost in Lena then as well.

The mayor was alluring, different, a fresh of breath air, and Kara had so willingly been enveloped in that, just as willingly as she had gotten lost in the gentle touch at her cheek. And while that thought and that memory was nice, a place to fall back into at the crossover of late night and needing to sleep, she had to step out of its growing comfortability because it was not at all how it should be, how it could be.

Kara had found herself in Lena’s room, in Lena’s embrace, in Lena’s kiss, but had not found herself there to do what she was supposed to have been doing. Instead, she got herself distracted again, and that distraction could end up with the pair of them dead. Perhaps that was a little on the dramatic side, but to have failed so miserably at her task, her _job_ , was to reap dire consequences. As full of serenity as the thought of that kiss had been, it now faded from Kara’s body and was replaced with a worrying weight seeping in through her pores to squeeze at her heart and expel all air from her lungs.

She sat up, needing so desperately to breathe, but now found the air that she slept in to be too stuffy for her to live in. She swung out of her hammock, boots coming down unevenly to the floor, and with a stagger of melodrama, she made her way to the stairs and climbed above deck to the sun. It beat down on her and was far too bright for her still-tired eyes to handle, and so she steadied herself at the archway that led below and looked up to the sky with eyes closed.

The rays of light were still bright upon her lidded eyes, but she adjusted quickly and suffered though for the fresh sea air she now tasted. She could hear past the waves and aching of the mast that not much else was happening above deck, and when she opened her eyes she saw that it was due to the fact that the ship was mostly bare. Many tasks had been busied out the day before and so today presented itself as a sort of day off, and with that the tavern ashore would be busy instead.

Kara looked about the deck, from starboard to port side, from ocean to shore, and in a moment that seemed to have already taken place, she saw a skinny young lad walking up the gangplank with a letter in his hand. He must be the same boy from yesterday, but less nervous it seemed, Kara noted as she strode over to meet him. A smile was exchanged along with the letter, and then, back to his nervousness, he scurried back to shore just as he had done the day before.

Kara watched him go, as calmly as he could manage, before turning her attention to the letter that sat in her hands. It was fine parchment, crisply folded and with a stamp sealing it, the delicate ‘L’ showing that it was from Lena. A cold chill ran through her, and she swallowed thickly. She could not be sure what the letter said, but was so very tempted to peek a glance at what was written inside before she should hand it over to the captain.

Almost as if he had read her mind, J’onzz appeared at the bridge and called her name – kinder than yesterday but it still made her jump – and so she headed up there with the unopened letter. She held it out at her last few paces, but he simply turned and headed back into his cabin, leaving the door open so that she may follow and enter as well. So, she did.

“Alex spoke to me this morning,” and now a different essence of nervousness ran through her. _What did she say...?_ Kara wondered sceptically. “She mentioned that your father... your real father,” he clarified as he sat, “was a sailor. Carried a book with him and taught you a thing or two.”

“Yes, sir,” Kara answered, not at all sure where this conversation was heading.

“She also said that you now have that book. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir,” she echoed of herself, and with her free hand, she reached inside her shirt to pull that book out. “It’s just a book on how to sail, really; tips, experiences, how to read the sky, and the like. He also scribbled down his own thoughts every now and then- I’m sorry, sir,” she cut herself off. “I’m not sure what you want?”

“Simply that your sister has relayed that you would like to help in finding this treasure. Well, of course you do,” he laughed. “But that you might see something we, with tired eyes, have not.” She saw in his eyes that he was phrasing this kindly as to not embarrass her; she was sure that Alex had not simply relayed her feelings, but told the captain of how she may have whined about it a little.

“Yes, sir. I would. I think that perhaps simply a fresh set of eyes on what you already have, may uncover something new to aid us in our search.”

“Too right you are,” he said, leaning back comfortably in his chair. “So, when we next convene to discuss and plot, you shall be invited.”

“Thank you, sir,” she smiled, pressing the book back into her pocket.

“And bring that book of yours with you,” he said, pointing his pencil at her as he leaned over his desk to go over charts. “What’s that in your hand?” A mumble this time, and Kara remembered the letter.

“Oh! A boy handed it to me not five minutes ago, sir. I think it might be from the mayor,” and with a gruff expulsion of air he waved his pencil at her as he leaned back in his chair once more, and asked her to read it. She nodded, and scowled at her shaking fingers as she broke the seal gently, before unfolding the letter. “Captain J’onzz,”

_Your message was received, and did not cause pain, but rather the recognition of blame. I see now that my forwardness and misreading of this relationship was too bold, and backfired for me. The message was unexpected, but the delivery greatly appreciated, and so you have my sincerest apology for causing this or any unpleasant or uncomfortable situation. I hope to continue a favourable working friendship with you and your crew so that we may ensure the safety and effective running of Port Nationale._

_Please be informed that no tax will be charged to Deo for docking overtime now nor in the future._

“Signed Mayor Lena Luthor,” Kara finished. Again, her eyes lingered over the different emotions registered in either ‘L’ but now her eyes clocked back to the letter itself, scanning it over – and experiencing again what she had previously felt – settling on the last line; more formal and to the point.

The earlier chunk of the letter seemed to lace itself with more than just the words that were being said, and as Captain J’onzz creaked forward in his chair, placing pencil down, Kara looked up from the parchment page with realisation. This letter was not simply meant for the captain. Lena had written, and Kara dared say _hoped_ , that Kara’s eyes or ears would be privy to it and understand that amongst the practicality of her apology, Lena was whispering her private apology to Kara as well for what had happened the night before.

She thanked the stars above that her captain was seemingly too distracted with his informed nodding to look at Kara’s face, for she, in that moment, could barely deny the small smile that crept across her lips. A gentle tug at her dimples, and her lips stretched just in the slightest, and that dread that had been clutching at Kara’s heart all morning – well, for the last half hour at most – seemed to slip away. She was still concerned about what would come of Lena’s neck being untouched, but she supposed that at least one thing could not be concerned over anymore.

~ ~ ~ ~

Her footsteps through the streets were more determined than the night before, Kara noted. She was noting everything this day in comparison to the one before, and could feel as her boot scuffed into the sand that the unsure and weighted squeak of her steps last night was not there. Yesterday, she had been a completely different person, alone in her secrets with Lena, but today’s sunshine and cursive letters made her realise that those secrets were shared _with_ Lena, and so she was not alone.

She was still in a state of unease at the thought of Lena’s neck, and the busyness of the day hardly helped her mind in that regard. It was a Sunday, and the morning markets that flourished more so on that day than any other, was in its final hours, running down and packing up the final bouquets not sold, the final loaves of bread not purchased for a hearty lunch. All leftovers were usually given to beggars on the street or the tavern to make big batches of food, but Kara could sneakily see as she slipped between stalls that the delicate fingers of young children could easily lift the weight of a loaf of bread and silently steal it away for their family. She never stopped them, only smiled when they spotted her spotting them, for she had seen many a person be there before. For a moment of her life, she had been too.

She walked through the last streets of markets on her way to the tavern, but as smoothly as the noise had faded the further she walked away, the more harsh that the noise came from her destination. Of course, on their days off, the crew of Deo would have moved in and with every drop of rum, their voices had raised in volume. Kara stood at the door and could barely find an open patch of ground to place her next step, let alone a spare place at the counter or a table.

Her mind did not need this. Her throat would appreciate the burn of rum before noon, but her mind could live without it. She smiled across the rabble at no one in particular, a ghost of the person she used to be perhaps, but with a frown as well, she turned and retraced her steps back to the markets. Now her steps squeaked again, and she felt tired. She had not eaten yet, and the thought occurred to her rudely; she was so easily swept up in her head that she had simply ignored and forgotten the rumble of her stomach. She felt it there as soon as she thought on it, and reached into her small pant pocket for some coin. Finding enough for some fruit, she purchased an apple and a small bunch of grapes that had seen better days.

She had no plan for her day, but decided simply to wander. Her feet were not yet sore and now that she had food, she would not feel at all faint, and so she would walk. Through the markets and the town, around to the cove maybe, where she oft would go when she needed to escape; when she needed the ocean to hear her worries and lap gently at her feet in comfort. Yes, the cove would be a delightful place to end up.

More children ran past her, hid behind her as elder ones teased and chased with toy swords, and Kara laughed around her mouthful of grapes at their joy, the quietness of their minds, but when they had left and moved on, the noise of hers returned. Buzzing and chattering, the words of both of Lena’s letters running through her mind, and the softness of the brunette’s breath behind each one. The scuffing of her feet, the mechanical sounds of her jaw moving as she chewed, the children’s laughs in the distance and then approaching and then in front of her, bustling past again and stopping her in her tracks.

She felt herself come to a sudden stop, and lifting her head again to take in the world around her, she took a breath and told her mind to be quiet. She had been moving, walking, making her way through the markets again and was almost to the other side of them, nearing the mayor’s office, but had taken none of it in; lost in her head. But now, her eyes raising, she saw her; the noise faded again and all she could hear was a breath and the name that sat on the tip of her tongue. _Lena..._ Her skin, once so pale, was now flushed as well, slightly burnt from the day in such a way that made the freckles she already had seem warmer and softer somehow. Her hair, always dark like the night, now glowed like the stars of a galaxy with the day’s sunshine breaking through, and Kara found herself pushing through the remaining crowds to slowly get to her.

The noise of laughing children drew the other woman’s attention as well, and Lena turned to see them scurry past. Then she saw Kara. The pirate stood out from those around her, even though her skin was just as tanned as theirs and her shirt was no darker than the few shadows cast on the ground around them – the same shirt she had been wearing the night before. Her eyes though... they shone and sparkled at her, for her, like the ocean does under the sun. Kara stepped and came close, breaking through the last of the crowds to be by her side, and although Lena had been in the middle of a conversation, the man had stepped away for a moment and so she found herself indulged by Kara’s nearer presence.

The memory of the night before ran through Kara’s mind again, and she found herself being the one this time wanting to step closer, to close the distance and to bring her body to Lena’s, bring them together, but of course, they were not in the solitude of the mayor’s bedroom now, nor even the quietness of an empty street. They were in public, and in public anything could be seen or heard and reported or used against them and so Kara swallowed thickly, wishing for what could not be.

She was standing so close to her, and she could have easily open her mouth to speak, so softly but still audibly, saying those things to Lena that were now pressing against the walls of her heart so much that she thought it may burst, but she couldn’t. She was standing so close to this woman that she felt so much for, but at the end of the day, she was a pirate and this woman was the mayor. She was bound to a crew whose leader would most likely disapprove, and this woman had caused issue and reason for distrust with that leader. She was wanting but oh, so new to this, and this woman who kissed her felt that she has crossed a line and did not deserve her.

She wanted to open her mouth and say that J’onzz forgave her – was aware and had an extra eye on her now, but still forgave her – and that she forgave her too, but that Lena did not have to apologise for this, for _that_ , because if it were any other night, under any other circumstance, Kara would not have pulled away. She would not have stopped kissing Lena and would not have left her to think she had done something wrong. Because when Lena kissed Kara, and Kara kissed her back, it felt nothing but right. But in that moment, on a busy market street under the harsh sun, where children scurried by and all the town seemed to stand, no manner of such words could be uttered.

Lena seemed to read the struggle on Kara’s face, and wanting all of those things too, she smiled. She still could not be sure of what her letter had rendered – Kara could very well be standing before her to run her through – but as she furrowed her brows just a little in question, Kara smiled slowly and softly back at her. She watched as Kara smiled and silently mouthed, ‘thank you,’ to which she almost blushed in return. Instead, Lena nodded softly with a smile and began to pull her hair away from her shoulder.

Kara watched, enthralled by the delicacy of the brunette’s fingers, weaving themselves in and around her own hair to pull it aside like a sheer curtain, but then she saw it. Her eyes widened and she saw that there was a fresh cut along Lena’s neck, a little red and puffy. She frowned and looked up to Lena to see what happened, to ask with her worrying eyes who did this to her, but Lena simply smiled and pulled her hair back to hide it.

Before she could act on the urge to blurt out her concern, fussing about Lena’s neck and tending to the wound, it occurred to her. So quickly it occurred to her, as quickly as the man had returned and had retaken Lena into serious conversation, and as she now realised herself to be facing a woman who was not facing her, she stepped away. She passed behind Lena – between the mayor and another towns folk who was too deep into his own conversation to see that Kara wanted to pass – and felt her hand rise to press at the other woman’s back gently, the space for her to move through too narrow. That hand was to apologise for getting too close, but of course, it was not simply a matter of manners anymore. Under her hand she could feel the stitching of Lena’s dress – she thought that she could memorise it – and Lena’s sharp intake of air at the touch too – which she knew she would memorise.

Kara walked away, muddled in with the crowd and muddled in her thoughts as well; all buzzing, as they usually did, except for that occurring thought, so loud and clear. With a heavy breath, she brought her hand to her forehead and pressed the loose strands of her hair back over her head, reaching the edge of town and slipping into the path that lead to the cove. Each step and that thought was screaming, soothing, singing in her ears, and each breath slowly sounded more and more like it would lead her to cry, but then the screaming stopped and took the buzzing with it, and her heart rose and fell further into Lena.

She stopped. She breathed in. She held it and smiled. _Lena cut her own neck._ She breathed out. She did not know how or when, but surmised that while she had returned home the night before and stood at the rail, running her thumbnail though old grooves, Lena had been lying awake, possibly already sitting or standing awake with some sharpened edge between her fingers carving a new groove into her skin. Hardly the most simple expression of a word meaning simply that Lena had her back, and was on her side, but Kara took it welcomingly into her heart anyway and she found her knees weakening as she realised the weight of what a thin line of red could mean.

She thought that Lena had possibly, logically, reached the conclusion that it would come back negatively to her as well to have an unmarked neck, and that it could result in something worse, but Kara hoped that it was because Lena cared. Shaking her head, she continued her walk towards the cove; she _knew_ that Lena cared, because otherwise why would she kiss her... But now, Kara hoped to know that Lena still felt this way, some way, because Kara also now saw that her worry, that the extra heaviness on her chest that was befuddling her earlier in the day was simply because she had never felt this before.

She had felt something for Cat, but because both knew that neither would, or should – or really wanted to in their soul – make a move for something more, it had never presented a problem, or a need to feel any weight on their chests. But Lena had kissed Kara, and had shown her that this was _something_ that she would carve up her own body delicately for, and so the intense and confusing whatever that was on Kara’s chest was because of the unknown. She was nervous but as she began figuring this out she saw herself grow excited as well, about how to make this more.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, what did we all think??? xo


	11. CHAPTER ELEVEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Completely unrelated, but happy Easter or Passover to those of you that take part or celebrate either. Much love, and stay safe this weekend! Stay in and read this new chapter ;)

So grainy yet soft, Kara’s toes wriggled through the sand as she tried to balance on one foot whilst she removed her boots. When both feet were back on the ground, she took a calming moment to enjoy the intense warmth of the sand, head lolled back and eyes closed as she blindly gazed up at the sun. She breathed in the salty air and tried to imagine those sprays of water off the waves evaporating into the air and travelling on the breeze to reach her nose. The day’s heat became more obvious to her as the blanketing warmth of the sand caused her body to slowly warm up more than it already was, a drop of sweat running down the back of her neck to catch in her shirt collar.

Foolishly, Kara had not changed her shirt from the night before. Perhaps she had been too lazy and eager to get ashore that morning, or perhaps subconsciously she wanted to keep what Lena had once touched as close to her body as she could. Either way, she could now feel the dire heat of such a choice begin to cook her. The water so welcoming, and the sky so clear that it hardly reflected anything into that water, Kara felt herself be drawn to it. And so, she went in.

Many a day-off had resulted in Kara making her way to the cove, sometimes with Alex and other members of the crew, but sometimes with only her thoughts, and she would enjoy the cooling wash of water as it welcomed her, rising to tickle her inner thighs, kiss the underside of her breast as she made her way further into it.

Alone, and overheating, Kara pulled her shirt over her head, feeling the pull of the scar across her back, then removed her make-shift corset and her pants as well. The subtle pleasure of feeling sunshine on parts of her body not normally exposed to the open air always felt sinful in some way, enticing and daring, and so again she let her head fall backward to soak in the moment as her skin soaked in the rays. At the rumbling crash of a wave further down to the rocks, she opened her eyes, pushing against the will to close them again from the bright sunlight, and slowly walked to the foaming edge of the ocean.

The first touches of water, gently caressing her toes, always sent a shiver up her spine, and today did not disappoint. More caresses continued, up her ankles and calves, behind her knees and a teasing wave licking up at her inner thighs. She smiled at the touch before bending her knees and dropping down into the shallows, bringing herself to float. The cooler-than-the-day but not entirely cool water ran across her warm scalp and soothed her chaotic mind, as her fingers began to dance through the currents that her relaxed body created in the water.

She had always loved how her body could ease in the water’s buoyancy but as soon as she relaxed her chest, expelling all air, she would slowly sink to the sand below her. Her breasts would remain buoyant and that lightness was a silent pleasure of its own, but the reminder of her own body’s weight was reassuring somehow. Even in the water where she would float and only sink slowly, the actuality that she was there created a sense of calm in her mind; that life may be complicated, her heart may be bewitched, and the crew’s next income unsure, but in the shallow waves of the ocean, she was there. The occasional sting of salt water to a wound was bitterly reassuring as well, and healing she had many a time been told. She could escape to the ocean and her mind could quiet while her body healed.

Such a retreat was so entirely needed at times, and she wondered if the new mayor may need such an escape as well – if only just to cool her body. She tucked that little thought away as she took another deep breath in, attempting to clear her mind yet again so that she may enjoy this time alone undisturbed, by anyone or any thought.

Within the calming mantra to not think and simply relax, focussing on the waves and the drag of sand underneath her fingertips, Kara was not sure that she hadn’t in fact fallen asleep, for when she thought on it and opened her eyes, pulling her body upright in the ocean, she saw that she had drifted a touch further down the beach and the sun had moved quite dramatically in the sky from where it had previously been. Now it was almost completely overhead, and she decided that her skin, nor her scars, needed anymore burning sunshine from the day, so she paddled lazily back to shore.

She rung her hair out and messily tied it behind her head, ignoring as best she could the salty knots that were making the task difficult. When the dripping from its end subsided, and the sun had effectively dried her off, she redressed slowly, not overly keen to get back into warm and sweat-laced clothes, before sitting down beside her boots to pull them back on.

As she dusted her feet from grains of sand, she heard the distinct calling of her name, and looking up to the path whence she came, she saw the mayor’s young assistant Lucy strolling through the sand towards her. Before she could pull on her right boot, and stand to meet her, the other woman was slumping down next to her, puffing a little when she did.

“Your hair’s wet,” Lucy said, as if Kara had not yet noticed.

“I went for a swim,” the blonde replied with a slight laugh in her voice. “What has you out on this fine day?”

“It’s even warmer in my home, believe it or not. And father is asleep so I supposed I might take a wander to enjoy the day.”

“Just for you,” Kara said, seeing the tired look reveal itself on Lucy’s face.

A sigh, deep and exhausted despite the day only just reaching noon. “Just for me, yes.”

Kara had known Lucy for as long as she had been in Port Nationale. The other woman had not always been the assistant to the mayor, but when her father had grown ill and Lucy needed to support the both of them now, she asked around for jobs. She was young and inexperienced and was too nervous to make conversation with people, but had an excellent mind.

Her father had long ago been an admiral of a respected ship in the navy and found that retiring on a land full of pirates was more preferable to the cold cities where he was still expected to wear his uniform; his attention to detail remained still, however, and so Lucy’s mind was a product of such organisational skills and practices. He had noted that at times his meetings with the mayor were oft missed or muddled up in the timetable, simply because Cat was a little disorganised. Mr Lane had inquired for a job on his daughter’s behalf, and lo and behold, Lucy had fit like a glove.

She kept the books clean and organised, and never let Cat miss an appointment, meeting or even lunch date. She slowly became more talkative to people, while more quickly having to become her father’s nurse as well, and after a few visits, Kara had extended the hand of friendship with a bouquet of flowers for the other woman’s father. Not that Lucy needed to be told, but pirates could be good people. Kara was good people and could be trusted.

“How is he; your father?” Kara asked, burrowing her hands into the warm grains by her side. She looked down at her legs outstretched in front of her for a moment, but when Lucy’s reply did not come, she gazed up to the other woman through squinted eyes and saw that Lucy was frowning. “You’re tired of people asking, aren’t you?”

“No,” Lucy said unconvincingly, a sharpness to the short word. Then she slouched and tried again. “If there were any miraculous change I would be telling people about town, but as I am not...”

“He is getting worse?”

“It is hard to say. The rains bring a cold, if only just a slight one, and that is enough to make him slip deeper into whatever is ailing him. The sun has been good for him, but still... Still, it does not make him better.” Kara dug her left hand out of the sand and dusted it on her thigh, before reaching up to the other woman’s shoulder. “He sits by the window or stays in bed all day. The sunshine on his face would be good, if only to cheer him up, but he doesn’t want eyes on him in his state.”

“He is proud.”

“Too proud,” Lucy said bitterly, with a jolting look at Kara, but frowned her regret at it instantly. “I don’t know what I can do anymore.”

“And Lois?” Kara asked of Lucy’s sister, knowing that she lived on the other side of the island, a few days travel away, and therefore only made the effort to visit a few times a year. “Does she intend to visit at all soon?”

“Ah, but there is his pride again, and how stubborn he is in it, too. He was always so hard on us; he loved us, but he was cold at times. He was a soldier, and I don’t suppose he...” she tapered off, and Kara squeezed the shoulder beneath her hand.

“She doesn’t want to come,” Kara surmised that that was where Lucy had been heading.

“Not unless it is dire.” There was nothing much that Kara could say to that. She would always offer to help Lucy in whatever way she could, if she could, and Lucy would always smile and thank her yet rarely ever take her up on it. Kara did not offer this time, for she knew that Lucy did not need the constant reminder. If Lucy needed her, she would be there, and they both knew that. “Enough of me,” the smaller woman said, a pitch higher than usual, with a straightening of her back that essentially shook Kara’s hand from her shoulder. “What of you, my friend?”

She shifted in the sand to face Kara, and waited patiently for some news, any news that made her get out of her own head for a moment or two.

“Oh, hunts for treasure, new wounds,” she stated, raising her left hand to show that now fading scar on it. “The usual, it seems.”

“And of... Cat?”

“Cat?” Kara asked of Lucy’s question.

“Cat,” Lucy clarified, as if there was some sort of misunderstanding. “You do recall our past mayor, of whom you had quite an attachment.”

“Oh, that...” Kara laughed.

“Oh, that...” Lucy echoed, which is all that current conversation seemed to be; echoes of the other person in confusion or question. It was driving Lucy mad. “Do you not still feel something for her? I haven’t seen her, of course, but have you? Do you even go to the tavern much these days? I do feel as if I have seen you at the office more times now than I ever did when Cat was mayor. Why might that be?” she rambled, and Kara all but turned to her, through her giggles, and clamped her hand over the other woman’s mouth.

“Are you quite done, Miss Lane?” she asked, and Lucy finally smiled, although her slightly suspicious, and ever-growing frown remained.

“I am. But answer me, please.”

“Well... I do not find myself seeing Cat as often anymore, no, and that is even though I have been to the tavern often enough.” She told herself it wasn’t really a lie; it was less often than she ever used to venture, but it was still often enough. “She is quite the busy proprietor there now, and so she is often too preoccupied for catching up. And of course, I visit the office so much to see your lovely smile.”

“Hmm,” Lucy smirked. “I take that as a compliment, but I do recall a few moments of... excitement between you and Miss Luthor, and so I shall also take that as a bit of a lie.”

“It is not!” Kara tried to argue, but her face failed her and she smiled too brightly.

“I shall not say a word to a single soul, Kara, for if your affections have transferred from mayor to new mayor I find that quite sweet. But it is not of my business to know.”

“Oh, Lucy...” Kara sighed, an air of the dramatic to it. “I can tell you as much as I feel, but shall not say her name because...”

“The rocks have ears?” Lucy jested, looking to the rocks and cliffs of the cove.

“Because it is new to me.”

“But you have liked at least one woman before. And Kara, we in Port Nationale are not unfamiliar with the interactions and love between two women, or men, because goodness! Winn stares at James as if he put the stars in the sky.”

“But I have never been in a position to act on these feelings, to push further and want more.”

“Want more than what? Daydreaming and slow handshakes?” Lucy remarked; she had tucked that first interaction between the two women away, after all.

“Lucy,” Kara said slowly, with a pause and a poignant look to the other woman’s eyes in preparation for what was to come. “She kissed me.”

“Lena ki-“

“Shh!”

“Sorry,” Lucy hushed, tucking her head into her shoulders. “But she kissed you?”

“Yes.”

“And did you kiss back?”

A pause, a slow blink, and then, “yes,” and Lucy practically squealed. Kara rolled her eyes. “But I couldn’t stay... it was very complicated.”

“I see,” Lucy nodded, not at all really seeing. She looked out over the waves and saw that the tide was creeping in, up to where they sat, and then she looked at the sky. The sun hadn’t moved all that much, but Lucy still felt as if she had been away from home for long enough. “Shall we walk back into town?” she asked, already standing.

“Yes,” Kara said, standing as well. “Would your father like some flowers? Would you?” she asked as she dusted her legs off, remembering how many bouquets seemed to be at the markets that morning. “I can leave you to check on him while I find a healthy bunch.”

“Kara, you really are so very sweet,” the shorter woman said, linking their arms for a step or two as they began back to the path. “That would be lovely.” They continued along for a while, quietly without conversation, before Lucy began again. “I also have a few files to take to the office.” She did not ask, but of course, Kara would follow for even the slight chance to see Lena again, if only for a second.

When they reached the town again, most of the markets had moved on, and Kara quickly dashed off to acquire one of the few remaining bouquets as Lucy continued to her house. When the brunette emerged from her home a few minutes later, Kara was standing there with flowers in hand, patiently waiting for her. Lucy smiled and thanked her, turning back inside to deposit them by her sleeping father’s side.

Kara had once visited unannounced and Lucy had later told Kara that her father did not appreciate the visit from a pirate, _especially a girl one at that_ apparently, and so Kara was very discreet now. She waited by the doorway, smiling at the few children who passed her; the same ones who had stolen the bread earlier and again, she smiled knowingly at them, promising to keep their secret. Lucy emerged, and with a smile at those children as well, she quietly closed the door behind her. She nodded to Kara, and so they walked on. She raised her hand as they began their next trek to show the few papers she was holding. “We should only be a moment.”

Kara did not mind, and she was sure that Lucy did not mind her shadowing her around town as she completed errands either, for through sickness or secret loves, hearts were feeling a little in need of some kind friendship for the day. Simply to be in each other’s presence and talk of nothing heavy, nothing pressing; the flowers were gorgeous, the ocean was so beautiful and calming today, that seagull most definitely had two legs and was just bluffing to get sympathy and food.

They chuckled at that last one as they reached the mayoral office, Lucy believing for certain that the seagull was an amputee, but alas, once she saw that some food was tossed his way, he relented and stuck out the other leg. Kara said that being a pirate came in handy for many things, one of which was being able to see through a mischievous bird’s cunning plan.

When they entered the office, Lucy stepped straight to her desk to file those papers, checking her calendar and whatever other little things she had to check dutifully and with efficiency. On the other hand, Kara slowly, and without entirely planning to, found herself wandering almost as if floating on a cloud. Her boots came so silently down to the floor beneath her that as she made her way towards the doorway that lead to the staircase, she thought back so vividly on the night before. Her barely-there footsteps, her unblinking and focussed eyes, her breath never quite fully expelled; then she saw her.

She had not made her way entirely across the entrance way, passing only slightly in front of Lena’s half open office doors on her tranced walk to the stairs. Through that one open door of the double archway, she saw the intoxicating brunette stroll, barefoot and with her hair pushed up against the back of her head with one hand so that her neck was exposed. The heat of the day surely felt a lot worse under its dark cloak. As Kara watched her, she saw that Lena was unaware to her presence, her back still turned to her and the window across the room’s breeze far more interesting.

It was such a simple moment, with no outside noise but the palm fronds dancing and the occasional turn of Lucy’s pages, but Kara felt it all overwhelm her at once. Her head was quieter again, and if Lena was anything good for her, she was the silence that helped her survive these days, but the blood pumping through her veins was loud in another form. It begged her to walk through that door and to encase the other woman in her arms, have breaths expelled and eyes flutter closed as they sunk into each other. She wanted to stride towards her and hold her, press her lips to that warm neck and to squeeze through Lena’s dress to bruise her skin; _I was here, on you, against you, I was yours_. But then as easily as she had been gliding through the office towards the staircase a fraction of time before, she now felt heavy and solid on this floor, as if she were fighting more than just gravity to get to Lena.

Her blood was lead, her thoughts iron and rusting, her hands gripping at her belt and her sword hilt as if Lena were a threat, when in reality she was clutching so at it in absence of clutching onto Lena herself. She was a rock on the bottom of the ocean, with the current behind it, stormy and powerful, yet still not enough to make her budge. She was that rock under the water, all noise muffled and unimportant, enjoying that solitude, but knowing that once the next wave came, she would be tossed into the sand, pummelled around in the water and foam until she washed up on shore.

She was fighting herself, lugging to the bottom of the ocean, but also craving that next wave with every pore in her skin, longing to be washed up to shore and into Lena’s arms.

“Kara,” Lucy’s voice rang, and her footsteps on the floor were loud and intrusive to her thoughts. “Come on,” and then the smaller woman was out the door, unaware that Kara had been lost in a dream of ‘one day’ and ‘what if’, and also that Lena had been there. Lena who had now heard Lucy’s voice, and it’s calling of Kara’s name, and so she spun, in that magical way that had her hair flowing down around her shoulders like a ribbon, effortlessly stealing Kara’s breath.

Their eyes locked, Lena’s and Kara’s, and they both felt as if they had caught the other at something that was private, but before either could speak, beckon to come closer, or even say hello, Lucy was talking again as if she had expected Kara to follow her so closely behind. A smile in lieu of a word, an apology for intruding, anything, and Kara found her cheeks aching to break into a beaming grin. She had seen Lena twice today and even more beautiful each time. She bit her lip in hopes to stifle that overjoyed smile, before turning to leave, pulling the door shut behind her as she did.

Lena breathed in suddenly deeply, as if she had just been held, the image of Kara’s lip being nervously bitten flourishing in her mind.

~ ~ ~ ~

That eve, Kara and Lucy met again for a drink at the tavern. Lucy had gone home not long after they shared lunch, for whilst she was not working she was looking after her father, or worrying that she should be looking after her father. Kara had understood. She always understood; her mother had been sick for a time and while she had to go to school or play with other children because her mother had told her so, she always wanted to be by her side looking after her.

Lucy had since left, after only one rum as it was a warmer night again and she said that her father was finding those to be more difficult. Kara was content, although she had hoped to perhaps express her feelings a bit more, if only just to hear another person’s take on them, but alas. She now sat at the counter by herself. Winn and Alex had accompanied her whilst Vasquez and J’onzz met to discuss their plans for tomorrow – Kara was promised to be looped in to share her view on their findings – but now Winn had passed out on the table and Alex had left to join Maggie in her room above the tavern. M’Gann poured her another glass, seeing that the young pirate perhaps needed it tonight more than most, and leant against the counter to lend an ear.

“What troubles you, Kara?”

“Many a thing, these days,” she mumbled, feeling as if it were a little of a lie, but still telling herself that she felt overwhelmed by it all just the same. For she did.

“Anything I can lend an ear to?” M’Gann asked, pouring a glass for herself.

Kara took a breath, before seemingly launching herself into a speech on philosophy that neither had prepared for. “You read many books in your life, you know, and they tell you of love and fortune and all the things that life offers that seem complicated but worth it, and then you experience them for yourself and... I’m not sure... you feel... drowned by it all the same.”

“You feel as if it is more for you than ever written about?”

“Yes,” Kara breathed, unsure as to how she even managed to form that sentence, when she could barely form one around Lena.

“That is life,” M’Gann offered, and as unhelpful as it was, Kara still smiled because it was as simply yet troublesomely put as that.

“I just-“

“Hello,” another voice came, and Kara’s heart began to flutter before her eyes had even met those of the person who just spoke. Lena stood beside her, most definitely a little closer than a mayor and a mere pirate should, but they were practically alone in the tavern, and M’Gann was not in the business of spreading rumours. The bartender only bowed her head, seeing the puzzle pieces slot together as smoothly as Lena’s hand brushed down Kara’s arm as she sat, and stepped away to grab another glass. She returned and filled it, before leaving to clean the tavern tables of glasses and drunken Winn’s. “I saw you today.”

“And I you,” Kara laughed softly. “I am sorry; Lucy was doing paperwork or something.”

“Don’t apologise. No harm was done,” she joked, before sliding her other hand that was around the cool glass up to behind her neck instead in attempts to cool it; her hair was still out. “The only harm done is that by this unfathomable heat.”

“Put your hair up,” Kara said. “And I know,” she continued before Lena could protest. “That you have that cut on your neck but no one is here that would care.”

“You would not care?” Lena asked, sheepishly and quietly.

“I would not feel...” she stopped herself, having forgotten for a moment that they were in public, in a space that they should not be this close, but were, and in a place where she hadn’t actually voiced her feelings to Lena as yet. “...think any differently of you if you had a scar.”

“Are you sure?”

“Scars show life’s lessons and the things that we have learnt from. Not to bring a hammer down on your own hand,” she said, bringing her hand up to show. Lena laughed. “Not to cross a very powerful pirate captain,” she leaned over and pushed Lena’s hair from her neck, revealing the cut, still red and irritated – only a day old but showing no signs of healing just the same. “Not to let your guard down around a Spanish guard,” and they laughed again, Kara feeling Lena’s laugh in her neck before she brought her hand back to her rum.

“What about scars of the heart?” Lena asked, taking a drink herself as to not feel as if she were staring at the other woman.

“Those are harder to learn from. Not to love so strongly, or forgive so easily... because I fear that I would forgive again.”

“And I would love again,” Lena hushed, for again their conversations had reverted to whispers in a quiet room. Her eyes latched on to Kara’s and held them in that moment, held the ocean in Kara’s eyes captive to her command as she leaned along the counter, her hand forgetting her own glass to wrap around Kara’s instead, around Kara’s _hand_ instead. “I think I-“

“Kara!” Winn’s drunken slur bellowed, and the blonde felt her heart leap out of her chest. Lena’s hand retreated to her lap and her pristine posture returned as she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear.

“I’m sorry,” Kara breathed, with a hint of annoyance. “He will end up lost if I don’t walk him back to Deo.” At that, she stood downing the rest of her rum, and fiddled in her pocket for the coin to pay for it, before Lena was grabbing at her wrist and standing as well.

“I shall pay,” and at Kara’s utterance of protest, she insisted with a firmer, then more gentle hold on the other woman’s wrist. She ran her fingertips up Kara’s arm daringly, quickly, before she procured the right coin and set it atop the counter. Kara watched her slowly leave in the next moments, Lena’s hand coming to hold her hair up as she walked, sauntered to the door, but as the brunette vanished from sight in those final moments, into the night yet again, Kara was distracted in the last as Winn whined her name again. She loved her fellow castmate dearly, but wished that he wouldn’t get himself into such a slurred state.

As she staggered back to the ship, only unbalanced so because of Winn’s extra weight across her shoulders, dragging his boots in the sand, she thought back to Lena’s words of the heat. The night was still and was hardly issue for causing the amount of sweat that was lacing her hairline, and yet it was there and she too felt victimised by the warmth. She imagined that a late-night dip into the ocean would be of no benefit, especially if she was to sit above deck with a heaving Winn for the next few hours, but spent that time thinking that Lena may have drawn herself a less-warm-than-the-night bath to cool off before sleep.

“But it’s still so warm,” she muttered, to which Winn, now draped over the rail only groaned in response. “Perhaps...” Kara wondered aloud, pulling her salt-crusted hair over her shoulder. “Yes... I think I will.”

And so, when Lena awoke the next day, still warm and her neck still throbbing, she went downstairs and found Lucy entering, a small note in her hands. “This was outside on the step,” Lucy said with her usual sweet smile.

“Thank you, dear,” and so she took it and opened it as she opened her office window as well.

_Meet me at the cove at sunset, where the salt water is cool and will help ease and heal your neck._

There was no name, and the cursive was rushed and a little inexperienced to the ink and how it ran, but Lena smiled just the same. Looking at the reports and scattered papers on her desk, she knew that it would be a long and terribly warm day yet again, but this time it would be rewarded. This time it would be worth it.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed xo


	12. CHAPTER TWELVE

The sun had only just risen, sunlight barely spilling over the horizon and catching fire in the morning breeze that rolled into the sails of Deo. Kara rubbed at her eyes as she stepped above deck, feeling somewhat rested but stuck in the warm sweat that had dried to her skin overnight. Winn was still asleep on the deck where she had left him, propped up against the stairs that lead to the bridge, and had thankfully not thrown up since she had left him only a few hours before. As she ducked down to him, pressing her palm to his warm forehead, his eyes fluttered open painfully, and his brow furrowed from the morning glare and that wretched ache to his stomach. “Sleep below deck and sip water today. I will cover your shifts,” Kara ordered softly. Her dear friend was such a terrible lightweight when it came to drinking, and yet he never slowed himself down or learnt how to stop before his body reacted.

She helped him stand and nodded through his lowly mumbled blessings of thank you, before heading up to the bridge where Vasquez was taking in the morning. She stepped up beside the other woman and mirrored her pose; hands on the rail, eyes closed, mouth slightly open to take in long and nourishing breaths of fresh sea air. The salt was good for her, Kara knew, and was unsure what she would ever do if faced with the reality of never tasting it again. She thought to herself that there was never to be another smell like the ocean that calmed her and fed her soul quite like it did. But with the breeze from ashore coming to clash with the one from the sea, a warm and fruity fragrance graced her lungs, a smell of which she knew to linger around a particular person who was just as calming and good for her soul; Lena.

Her eyes shot open, expecting the brunette to be edging up the gangplank, but upon her hurried scout around deck and shore, she saw that Lena was not there and that the smell was simply ghosting through the air instead. She took another breath, wanting to enjoy it nonetheless, but found it absent. Another, and still Lena’s scent was not there, and so she stopped; stopped her heavy breathing and wondering what fruit exactly that it was, to only realise that she must have simply imagined it there. Lena was not anywhere near Deo, nor was any other person that may carry that scent, and so Kara’s floaty morning mind, too entirely wrapped up in the romantic essence of early sunrises and gentle breezes, had romantically imagined Lena to be a part of it as well.

She sighed deeply, more than she had meant to, and finally it caught Vasquez’s attention. “Too much air in your lungs, little Danvers?”

“No,” Kara said with a sort of half laugh that hoped to brush it all off. But the other woman did not seem to want to.

“You’re nervous?”

“What?” and Kara knew she sounded nervous now, because she was still in her head about Lena and assumed that she was what Vasquez was referring to; that Kara was nervous about her feelings for Lena. “How did you-?”

“Relax, Kara,” she said with a gentle pat to the blonde’s shoulder. “We’ve all been nervous about it before. You’re not the first, and certainly won’t be the last,” and although the other woman’s words could apply to her feelings for Lena, for her feelings towards woman, she doubted now that what Vasquez was saying was actually about that at all.

“What do I have to be nervous about?” Kara tested, hoping for the other woman to be more specific in what she was talking about, more detailed.

“Exactly,” a clap to the back this time. “J’onzz may be gruff and eager to find this treasure,” _ohhh..._ Kara thought. _The meet!_ “But he will be more than willing to hear any ideas you have or any insights.”

“Good; I mean...” she began again, taking another breath although her lungs were saying that she’d done quite enough sighing for the day. “I’m glad that I have nothing to be nervous about.” Vasquez smiled across to her, gripping her hands around the rail more soundly and straightening her posture. She was preparing herself for the day in much the same way that Kara often saw J’onzz doing. She smiled back.

“What duties do you have this morning, before the meet?”

“Nothing, really, but Winn was again too liberal with the rum last night and so I have ordered him to rest today. I shall cover his duties.”

“Ah,” Vasquez nodded, in a jovial sort of way, especially at Kara’s use of the word, ‘ordered’ as the blonde had no rank over Winn, and was in fact a newer crew to the ship than he. “What are his duties then?”

“Scrubbing the deck and rails of sea spray,” and Kara hadn’t meant to sound to disinterested, much like she hadn’t meant to sigh so deeply, but her head was somewhere else. When she was released of the conversation and cantered down the stairs to the main deck, passing a hurried Alex on her way, she bargained with her mind for this task. She was as good as any of the crew at cleaning the decks, but there was something about Kara that enjoyed the burn in her muscles more than most, and so she made this bargain: if she worked hard, harder than usual and burnt her muscles until she could barely carry the bucket for which she used to clean, then she would be allowed the rest of the day to ease her body back to a state of less pain. When that time came, she would be able to venture to Lena’s and invite her to take part in her plan that she thought of the night before.

Until then, she was to scrub hard at the deck and make the wood almost new again, running over in her head what she would exactly say to Lena when seeing her again.

Upon returning to deck, scrubbing brush in hand, the bristles only slightly beginning to loosen and give way, Kara was whistled at loudly and rather intrusively – she had wasted no time slipping into her daydreams – from across the ship by Alex. She had many a time in her childhood been on the receiving end of that shrill whistle, annoyingly most of the time when Kara was far to near to ever need a whistle to call her back. Instead, those times, it only seemed to result in a ringing in her ear for the next half hour; one so loud that it was only matched by her older sister’s laughter.

Now, that sound was less of a form of torment, but a necessary calling to action, and when Kara looked up and shaded her eyes from the rising sun with her hand, she saw that Alex’s face was rather stern. Had she done something wrong? Had Alex or _J’onzz_ found out about the cut on Lena’s neck and how Kara wasn’t the one to cause its being there?

Logically, she knew that that could hardly be the case, as the only two people who did know that Kara had failed at her job were herself and Lena and she doubted very much that the brunette would rat her out. Still, her stomach fluttered with nerves as she placed down her bucket and brush and dashed up to the bridge as calmly yet urgently as she could. She was met with Alex rubbing at her forehead and J’onzz bustling around inside his open cabin, before he too joined them on the bridge and mirrored Alex’s worried pose.

“What’s happened, Alex?” Kara asked, sincerely concerned.

“Lord has let slip of the treasure.”

“What?”

“The blacksmith’s son, you know him?” J’onzz asked, frazzled and annoyed, asking questions that weren’t necessary.

“Yes, I know him, but what of him?”

“He heard Lord speaking to another pirate, from a ship of which he wasn’t sure but I do have my suspicions.”

“And he – the blacksmith’s son – heard that Lord was telling this pirate of the treasure. Telling him of the clues and information that he had told us,” Alex finished, for now J’onzz was pacing again.

“That he had _sold_ us?” Kara questioned.

“Yes.”

“Bastard,” Kara cursed.

“Indeed,” J’onzz spoke again, turning back to them both. “And so... Alex and I are going to have a word with him,” and his tone scared Kara just a bit.

“He is staying at a tavern, apparently,” Alex interjected.

“Cat’s tavern?”

“No, one in another port over.”

“We shall ride there and hopefully need to do nothing more than talk, but should that not be the case,” J’onzz paused, resting his heavy hand on Kara’s shoulder, and oddly it had already begun to ache despite not scrubbing at all. “Then we shall send for you.”

She nodded and looked from her captain to her sister and how her hand was now resting on her hilt much like Kara’s nervously, slightly aggressively did on her own. “I’m sure Alex can efficiently run him through,” she hummed, in a tone that matched the sinister one of J’onzz’s. At the grins from both of the others, Kara stepped aside for them to head ashore, to the local stables so that they may ride off and arrive at the town not long after dark that night. Before Alex left, Kara grabbed her hand in the way that they usually did when leaving each other for more than just a few hours, and shared a look.

“I love you,” Alex said.

“I love you,” Kara echoed, and squeezed the hand in hers for extra measure before letting Alex go. She stood at the rail of the bridge for a moment longer, until J’onzz and Alex had blended and become lost in the dock’s crowd. Another deep breath, and her lungs felt almost tired at all of her heavy breathing. She held her breath for a moment, preparing to step off and return to her scrubbing, but noticed that J’onzz’s door was still open.

She saw his desk through the poor lighting of the cabin, and to the parchment and ink that sat there. In a rash decision, neglecting to even look over her shoulder for Vasquez or any of the crew, she quickly slipped inside and closed the door behind her. She had not written in such a long time and had to dryly practise again on the parchment before collecting any ink, hoping that her muscles still knew how to write her own name. A scribbled little note, and as she blew on it to dry, realised she hadn’t even written her name, but it was too late now. She had already placed back the quill and had been in the cabin for more than long enough, and so she rushed to the door and quietly slipped out as smoothly as she had slipped in. The note was tucked into her shirt pocket, snug along with her father’s book.

The deck was empty. Vasquez wasn’t even there – probably below deck grabbing some food, Kara hoped – and so she took her chance. She wanted to enact this plan with Lena and despite the grim hue to the morning their discovery from Lord seemed to bring, she was easily brightened again by the thought of this relaxing plan. She bounded down the gangplank as quietly as she could muster and leapt to shore before she had even reached the bottom and set off.

Sand flicking up behind her as she ran, she dodged townsfolk and slipped between streets and alleyways. She saw Lucy rounding the corner as she reached the front door to the office, so quickly placed the note down and returned to the shadows and early sunlight glow that blurred her image as she ran. If Vasquez asked, Kara was puffing because she had just lifted her bucket of water a few times to warm up her muscles. But she didn’t. She was still below deck, so Kara sprawled across the unwashed wood for a moment before properly, again, beginning her day.

~ ~ ~ ~

When noon arrived and Lena’s clock thankfully rang over the next hour, she sat back in her chair which seemed to groan beneath her more than she did at having been hunched over her paperwork for hours, and sighed. For such a small Port – small in comparison to the large expanse of New York that was her backyard as a child – she was surprised constantly by how many forms needed to be filed, and how many letters she had to write to people. Of course, it was never as much as she had ever had to do when overseeing the family business, but she thought to herself that it was often a more taxing series of tasks due to the heat.

The heat, she thought, and despite the sweat running down the back of her neck, she smiled just a little, the corners of her mouth creeping up in wistful anticipation of her invite to the cove. She was not sure what to expect, except that there would be, at the very least, light frolicking in the shallow waves. Still, she had planned to end her day earlier so that she may change into something more suitable to wear to the ocean. That something of course was still to be the dress that she was wearing at her desk, too tight around her abdomen as her posture failed her, but what was underneath... ah, that was what she would change. A corset would be no good; not for the relaxed aesthetic that she thought she should adapt for the evening, and so, with her cheeky smile growing into a sort of kindly devilish grin, she thought it best if she simply went without.

Enough thought on that, she decided, when her stomach started rumbling and so she pushed out from her desk, unfinished and scattered papers be damned, and stretched her back before walking to her door. “Lucy, I’m heading to the tavern for lunch,” she said once entering the entrance way. “Care to join?” she offered once the other brunette’s attention had been gained.

“Oh, thank you very much, Miss Luthor, but I’m afraid that I shall have to decline. My father had a burst of energy this morning and promised to share lunch with me,” she answered, a little regretfully.

“That sounds lovely,” Lena said with a smile, before opening the front door. “Well, I shall be back in now more than a half hour.” Lucy nodded, and so Lena headed out, passing through the streets as strategically as she could manage in the midday sun, stepping from shadow to shadow. It was not a daily occurrence, but definitely a weekly one for the young mayor to venture to the tavern for lunch, be welcomed to the kitchen by Cat and set at the table by the window with one of James’ pineapple salads. Sometimes he would change it up and surprise her with some other meal; something to use the coconuts he always seemed to have piled up in the corner, or to finish off a loaf of bread before it went stale.

Cat would slip in and out, commenting on the heat, or the usual customer who was drunk too early in the day, or to simply compliment Lena’s dress or hairstyle. Today she sat Lena down and placed the salad in front of her, scowling, and when Lena looked up questioningly, Cat shook her head and worried about the brunette’s choice to where her hair down. When James’ back was turned, Lena simply pulled her hair away from her neck, much like she had down for Kara the day before and Cat nodded. She knew what it meant, and she also knew not to ask. She turned and left for the bar again, and then James spoke up.

“I was going to make you a cold cuts sandwich,” his voice apologised.

“Oh?” Lena asked around a forkful of pineapple and beans, not at all disappointed with her lunch.

“But Maggie snacked on the last of the bread.”

“That is quite alright, James. I do love this salad.”

“Thank you,” he toothily grinned, and it was infectious so, so Lena grinned back.

When she had finished her meal and her mind was mostly clear – the breeze through the window always seemed to blow stressing thoughts away and pass the time divinely – she bid her farewell for another day and slipped back out to the bar counter. Leaning over it, she asked for a bottle of their best rum explaining that her office was out and smiled thankfully at Maggie, the bread thief, as they exchanged drink and coinage.

As she walked home, stepping from shadow to shadow again like they were rocks in a stream, her chest fluttered nervously, and she was glad to have gotten the rum. Upon reaching her building, she saw that Lucy was still at her home, and continued into her office and over to the far table where she stored her alcohol. She placed the full bottle of rum down next to her decanter, not at all near empty, and walked back around her desk to continue her work.

Later that afternoon, when Lucy had left for the day, Lena dashed upstairs with her new bottle and took a sip from it before undressing and casting the too-constricting, too-warm corset aside. It slipped off the edge of her bed to the floor but she was too preoccupied with her own image in the mirror to tend to it. She stood, the rusted edges of the glass casting a mood over her as she stared at herself. Naked with the rum bottle hanging from her hand again, she brought it up slowly, watching how her body changed when she did, and took another sip, turned it into a swig, breathed out heavily, burningly when she brought the bottle back down.

She set it down at her feet to redress, save the corset this time, and noticed how lesser her bust appeared when she was done. She shrugged with the rum slowly reaching her head, and thought that she quite possibly wouldn’t be staying in the dress all afternoon. _Kara won’t mind,_ her mind said and she giggled, picking up the bottle again and shuffled to the window of her bedroom. She couldn’t see entirely well past the rooftops and ships masts in the distance, but she was sure that the sun was slowly reaching the edge of the water. She nodded and pressed the cork back into the bottle before heading to the cove.

~ ~ ~ ~

Kara had stayed at the ship all day. She still worried about Alex and J’onzz, but was sure that those feelings would have only been amplified should she wander from Deo. Somehow the ship calmed her and reminded her that the two had been on many an _errand_ of this sort before, and had returned every time; they’d come home every time, so Kara need not worry.

She had scrubbed the deck, and even climbed up to the crow’s nest to clean it as well. The bottom was littered with apple cores and dried spit from those of the crew who were too stereotypically pirate in their behaviours and didn’t feel the need to clean up after themselves. Kara had instead.

She sat at the rail now and was focussing on her breathing as she watched the sun’s convex bottom creep towards the horizon. She was frowning at its glare, but was anything but moody, feeling instead a light tingle grow from her stomach to her chest, then to her fingertips as she nervously began to rap on the clean wood. She wished that she had grabbed some rum to ease her nerves, but was too invested in the sunset now.

When the sun’s heat-waved edge kissed the far expanse of the ocean, she turned on her heel and headed to the bridge, stepping up beside a well-rested Winn – who was in charge of Deo until the captain’s return – to let him know of her intended leave. She had mentioned to him earlier in the afternoon when he had ventured above deck, still cursing his hangover, and had willingly let Kara go; anything to get her to stop talking to him so energetically. So now, he nodded and granted her leave, and suddenly only then did her date with Lena seem to be real. She strolled ashore as calmly as she could manage, her hand on the hilt of her sword as per usual – a sort of technique that kept her calm and in control of her swagger – and rounded the sides of the dock that turned into the path that took her to the cove.

She was worried as she walked, her pace increasing, thinking she might be arriving too early. Or that there perhaps might be other people of Port Nationale who had the same idea to have a late afternoon swim. Or that Lena perhaps may be waiting and had been waiting for too long. What if she had been and thought that Kara wasn’t going to show, taking herself back towards town? The running thought reached the pirate’s legs and her pace quickened even more, until she reached the crest that oversaw the cove beach. It was empty except for the windswept image of a woman so far down the beach that all Kara could identify her to be Lena by was her hair, coolly blowing in the eve breeze.

She smiled and bit her lip, the fluttering in her chest becoming almost unbearable, but she would go through that a thousand times over just to gaze upon Lena’s face again, cheeks pinkened by the day’s heat, but also now because of the crisp breeze that made its way around the headland. She strode down the sand path until it became too hard to walk without looking like she was marching into battle and so she paused to pull them off. Carrying them now, she enjoyed the soft coarseness of the sand as it ground against her feet in her determined walk to meet Lena.

When she was within shouting distance, she opened her mouth to call the other woman’s name, but almost as if she could hear her footsteps on the wind, Lena turned and smiled, much like that toothy grin that she had shared with James earlier in the day. The wind turned as she did and caught under her hair, blowing it backwards over her shoulders. It was nice and she felt ethereal for a moment, but then the cold sting cut into her neck and she brought her hand up to cover it, her smile faulting. Kara reached her and she extended her arm, the bottle of rum being presented to the blonde – although it was nearing only half full now – but Kara pushed past it.

Concern now on her face, she dropped her boots and brought her hands up to cup Lena’s cheek, turning her away from the wind to ease it on her neck so that she may look at the cut. The puffiness had gone down, possibly in thanks to the cooler air of the cove, but it was still in dire need of flushing out. Kara then took the bottle from Lena without looking to grab it; her eyes remained locked on Lena’s neck, then her face, then up to her eyes as her hand travelled down along the brunette’s arm until her fingers bumped into the neck of the bottle. Biting her lip in a smile again she took the bottle smoothly from the hand that so tightly clasped it and took a swig. Then she was bending down to press it into the ripple of sand next to her boots and standing again to pull her shirt over her head, revealing that old and worn-to-death makeshift corset. She dropped her shirt and reached behind her back to unlace the corset before that, too, was dropped to the sand.

Lena knew her face showed her shock, and perhaps her slight arousal as well, but Kara was only smiling gently again at her, dropping her pants and reaching up to caress Lena’s neck chillingly. Kara had never had an issue with nudity, and found that through her years of hard work and fighting, her bust was not at all near worthy of garnering much attention. Still, Lena had to resist the strong urge from her peripherals to drop her gaze and take in the sight of Kara’s – or simply another woman’s – breasts.

But then Kara’s fingertips were running up to and off her jawline, beckoning her to follow to the sea as she walked backwards towards it, and suddenly the pirate’s eyes were all she was captivated by. When Kara reached the edge, she turned and bounded in, diving under a small wave and coming up again to flick her hair about. Its ends whipped around her neck and face, the image causing Lena to laugh a little as she nervously dropped her dress. She was still wearing an undershirt and shortened bloomers, but she felt as if she may as well have been as naked as the pirate; she had never in her adult life been in such a state of undress.

The image of Lena dropping her dress, and then nervously, yet still oddly confidently stalking into the ocean towards her made Kara’s breath catch in her throat and she coughed. She hoped that it had come off as if she had swallowed water and needed to clear it out, but knew that she was still gawking at the other woman. She edged herself almost underwater again as Lena came nearer, only the gentle lapping of water around them making a sound.

“It’ll hurt, won’t it?” Lena whispered, because in the quiet of the ocean and the nerves that they both felt, they had edged that close to each other. Knees bent under them so that their bodies were hidden, the waves moved them around so that they bumped against each other underwater. Lena felt her hands be taken softly by the blonde’s and then be guided further away from shore. Soon, those lapping waves were tickling over her collarbones and finding their way up her neck. She lengthened it as much as she could, afraid of how it may hurt, but then Kara was smiling at her as if she was trying to stifle a laugh. “What?”

“Lena... you cut yourself. Didn’t that hurt more than this might?”

“It’s different...” Lena whispered, focussing on how Kara’s thumbs began rubbing over the backs of her hands. “I did that for you. This is the consequence, and the consequence always hurts more.”

Something in how Lena had said those words called forth a sense of worry in Kara, and so she leaned forward through the water, their knees no longer so bent nor touching. “What makes you say that?” she asked softly, letting one of Lena’s hands go so that she may reach up to deftly tuck wet brunette hair behind an ear, exposing that cut even more. She dipped her fingertips back into the water, bringing them out again so that a few drops remained on their ends and she brought them to Lena’s neck. She let those drops run down her skin, against, across, through her cut, continuing to rub the back of Lena’s hand that she still held.

“There was a woman. She kissed me once,” Lena began, feeling so unnaturally exposed with her experiences about to be spoken and Kara’s fingertips caressing her neck. “But then I never heard of her again.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. I met her while Lex met her husband for business, but then when I never saw her again, I assumed that... I don’t know... whatever had been planned didn’t work out?”

“But you’re not sure?” Kara asked in return, dipping her fingers into the water again.

“I thought more about it a few times later on, and I cannot help but wonder if something bad had happened. If we had been seen and... something...”

“That doesn’t mean that something bad did happen.”

“But worrying is its own consequence, is it not?” Lena asked, looking up into Kara’s eyes finally, searching them for an answer, for reassurance, for anything.

“Perhaps it is,” and now Kara was the one worrying of consequences. She continued to tend to Lena’s neck, but worried that their surreptitious relationship might end terribly if J’onzz found out. With Lena’s worry of past... _lovers?_... she found that together it only made their need for secrecy heightened. “But let us not worry of that right now,” she said to them both, bringing her hand back underwater to hold Lena’s. Without her prompting, Lena dipped herself completely under the gentle lull of waves, coming back up with her eyes squeezed shut and her hair slicked back over her head.

She let go of Kara’s hand to rub at her eyes, and when she opened them she saw Kara smiling. “Alright,” she lamented, taking the pirate’s hand again. “It wasn’t all that bad,” and maybe it was the almost half bottle of rum in her or the fact that she had just been so vulnerable with the other woman, but she licked her lips in rather an accentuated way and flashed her eyes down to Kara’s, still tight in a smile. It faltered at her gaze, however, and when Lena looked back up she found eyes on her lips instead. She smiled and felt her hands being played with. Fingertips wriggled around slightly, nails scratched at her skin, then in one smooth motion, their fingers were laced together and Kara was pulling her closer.

Their chests touched slowly and Lena breathed in sharply as her body shuddered; the material of her undershirt was doing nothing to quell the sensation of hardened nipples pressing into soft skin. She knew that she was now breathing heavily, that and the sound of her heartbeat in her ears almost drowning out the waves crashing to rocks down the beach, or Kara’s own breath. The blonde licked her lips, and she in return squeezed her fingers more tightly, and then their noses bumped. She tilted her head, bringing the tip of her nose down to Kara’s cheek as their lips graced across each other.

She wondered if Kara had ever kissed another woman besides her, and so she, for some reason, waited for the blonde to make the first move. And then she did, and it was everything as sweet as the other night had been, soft and an opportunity to teasingly taste, but now their lips were also laced with salt, adding an edge to the kiss that made Lena want more. She licked at Kara’s lip, but then found the power shift and her own was being bitten. She moaned deeply in her throat and pressed her body as much as she could into Kara’s, slowly forgetting that they were not in the privacy of her room or even a semi-secluded booth of a gentleman’s bar; they were swaying about in the waters of a cove so frequently visited by others of the town they lived in. They could be spotted at any moment – perhaps they already had been – and, almost as if the universe had read her mind, the joyous giggles of children on the clifftops around the cove broke them apart.

The laughs echoed down to the beach running out across the ocean, and Kara scouted as quickly as she could to see if they were the ones being laughed at, but when she could not see anyone, she assumed it was safe and so she began to edge out of the water. Her hand still linked with Lena’s, she led them ashore and back to their piled clothes and the rum. She turned her back while Lena pulled her dress back on, and she her pants, corset and shirt. She turned around again when she heard the swash of rum being tipped in the bottle, and saw Lena taking another sip. “You alright?” she asked, taking the bottle that was now offered to her.

“That was close,” she said sheepishly.

“Yes, it was,” Kara’s tone suggested, with a sly smirk on her face, her lips now wet with rum.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” she still smirked, and was glad to see that it was flustering the other woman.

“So, Miss Danvers,” Lena dramatically tried to change subject. “Tell me of _your_ past.”

“Well,” Kara laughed, patting her chest out of habit to find her father’s book. “My father was a sailor, and he was lost at sea as we came to this island.”

“I’m so sorry,” Lena said, reaching out to rub Kara’s shoulder. There was no hesitation in her gesture; they both liked that. As Kara continued, Lena let her hand slide down her arm until their hands met and held loosely while they walked – staggered – slowly back across the beach.

“I keep his book with me all the time, so I feel as if he’s always with me. That way, I don’t feel like he ever left.” She paused to smile about the few memories of her father she had, then looked up at the growing-darker evening sky. “He used to show me the night sky, tell me about the constellations and all of the goddesses they were named after,” she said with a smile, looking across to Lena. The brunette was more beautiful than all of those stars and Kara wondered why there was never a constellation named after her. “He has scribbled a few of his favourites in his book, and I always look for them on clear nights.”

“That’s sweet,” Lena said.

“I believe I could find them in my sleep. Even when we are almost lost at sea, I can find them. I always see them...” and then she slowly stopped in her tracks, her head dropping as her eyes searched around.

“Kara,” Lena worried, stopping as well and squeezing the blonde’s hand. “What is it?”

“J’onzz is looking for a treasure.”

“What does that have to do with your father?”

“He had a map of the night sky in his cabin,” Kara said looking up. “He obviously needs it, but doesn’t know which stars to look for, to follow. But my father’s book, Lena!” Kara exclaimed, letting go of the brunette’s hand and dropping her boots so that she may dig the book out of her pocket. She flicked through the pages until she found the one she wanted, before continuing. “My father said that I was born under this constellation.”

“And you think that it is the one that J’onzz needs to follow?”

“I’m not sure... I don’t even know if my old island is where the treasure is but... this constellation was part of J’onzz’s map... and that’s...”

“That is something.”

“It is... isn’t it?” Kara asked, and the small amount of rum that she had consumed had reached her head and she was buzzing with wonder and uncertainty.

“Whether it is or not... I would suggest you still inform J’onzz. You never know; it may be the clue he needs,” and Lena was feeling herself get as excited as Kara’s eyes looked as she grabbed the other woman’s hand that was still wrapped around the book. Kara looked into her eyes and they smiled at her, her whole face smiled and then she was tucking the book back into her pocket and picking up her boots, clasping Lena’s hand in hers as they headed towards town, even more of a spring in their steps than before.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know what ya think!! Also, disclaimer, as I was uploading this I was thinking "omg when do they get togetherrrrr????" so just know that you're not alone and even I am filled with angst wanting y'all to get to the good shit :P xo


	13. CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The evening had a brisk touch to it as Kara escorted the dripping brunette back to her home. As they had edged over the ridge from the cove, returning to the port where after-dinner eyes spied out of dimly lit windows to the cooled streets outside, the two women had foregone holding hands for two reasons: it was unseemly for them to be seen in such a level of intimacy, and that brisk air was not entirely cold, but was most certainly enough to show the coolness of their bodies between thin and soaked material.

Now their arms were folded or clasped delicately to their chests as they attempted to hide the other with their own bodies, passing by windows, enacting a sort of hovering dance that brought them closer to each other. Once they arrived at Lena’s, the door was opened, and they stepped as far into the archway as they could without being still seen nor bringing in what of the ocean was clinging to them. Lena, of course, needed to enter her own home; Kara was content in herself to stay on the last step before entering, but once she had paused, Lena smirked and reached out to determinedly hook her fingers into the loose of the blonde’s shirt, pulling her in.

Kara laughed as she stumbled in, taken aback at how familiar they had grown so quickly. It seemed, in her mind, that as soon as their lips had touched in a moment so undoubtedly wanted that they simply knew in themselves to want more and give it in return. They could have stayed in that bubble forever, lost in the shadows and crisp endings of shadows cast on the other’s face, and in the glistening hue of their skin. Freckles scattered down the brunette’s neck and chest were the new stars that Kara would search for, dream of in the night. Unlike the stars named for goddesses that illuminated the skies, however, Lena was a mere mortal - although Kara would debate - who had only managed to consume alcohol in the last hours, and not any food. Her stomach groaned out its tiny begging for something, and the pair of them giggled into each other.

“I suppose I had better eat something lest I forget and daydream my way into sleep without anything in my stomach,” Lena said, contrastingly tightening her wind in Kara’s shirt.

“I suppose I should, as well,” the pirate lamented, not at all wanting anything in her mouth but Lena. Alas, she could feel her stomach beginning to growl through the mere sustenance of rum and thought of the fresh loaves of bread that were stored below deck back at Deo. Her mouth salivated, even more than it already had been that evening. “May I ki-“ and the rudeness of the universe, no matter how sweet it was to have brought them together, also brought forth a few stragglers from the tavern, a street too close to the mayoral office than would have been desired.

Lena’s hand reluctantly dropped and came to wind in her own clothing instead, the heavy flow of her dress by her thigh. She sighed and looked up through constellation-dusted eyelashes, regret at that want having to be left at bay for the night swimming in her eyes.

“I suppose not, then,” Kara mumbled, rolling her shoulders awkwardly to sort of trigger her step backwards, returning to the last step and then down again. “I shall... see you soon?”

“If the stars allow it,” Lena added.

“The stars are my friends,” the pirate mused. “As are you, Miss Luthor,” she spoke in a bolder tone with a hopeful and knowing smile, returning down again to the ground; returning down from the heavenly plane that was Lena, to the mortal ground; turning her back on the smirking brunette, wavy locks guarding her soothed neck and flushed cheeks; stepping away with a heavy sigh to return to Deo and chase the stars.

~ ~ ~ ~

Her forehead pressed against the door and her hair slick to her neck, Lena breathed in the now-familiar scent of dry saltiness that stuck to everything. Accustomed she was to the heady oak of her surroundings in New York, the crisp smell of embers from nearby fireplaces; those once memories-of-home were being replaced with what she felt was her new home, where her heart had always meant to find home.

A shiver ran down her shoulder to her spine in the wake of a lone drop of water, and she felt the odd desire to embrace it as she stood back from the door, as if it were the chilling drag of fingernails against her skin. Her head lolled back quite at its own accord and again she was reminded of the rum that laced her bloodstream. Her mind felt tired and heavy, and she knew that she should probably have some dinner, but could hardly find the motivation to make herself anything.

Instead she scuffed her feet against the stairs and raked her fingertips lightly along the wall until she reached the kitchen, grabbed a banana and cut herself a thick slice of bread, placing them both on a plate to – most likely – sit on her bedside table without being eaten until much, much later. Her dehydrated mind would surely wake her in the dead of night, begging her for water and sustenance and so she would be prepared.

For now, however, she walked around the foot of her bed to the windows of her room and drew the curtains shut. They were sheer and barely kept any moonlight out, but they were enough for Lena to feel a sense of privacy as she more difficultly dropped her dress to the floor as she stood in front of her mirror. It clung to her hips and she had to push it down, and as she did, she watched as her collarbones stood out more in the effort, catching shadows and the ocean that still dripped from her hair. The drops trickled down her chest when the dress had fallen, and she became mesmerised as they glistened their way around the curve of her breast to drop or cling tighter.

Another chill ran through her now, with the night air dancing with the water on her skin, so she reached for the towel that she had draped over the edge of her bath and began to dry herself slowly. As she came to dry her hair, pulling it over her shoulder to tussle between the towel, her eyes landed on her cut, now slowly beginning to heal and looking infinitely better. The redness had subsided to almost nothing, and it wasn’t puffy anymore. She could still feel the trickling down of water past it, and then the pirate’s fingertips afterwards, and she smiled. The smile glowed in the rusted mirror, lips reddened from nervous biting and desired kissing.

She was drier now, or at least as dry as she was to be for the night; her hair was still to hold its dampness til morning when she would rinse it with fresh water, or daringly wear the salty locks up in a ponytail, much like Kara always did. She draped that towel over her pillow before pulling the covers back, not wanting her hair to soak her bedding once her head had laid down to rest. It would stay there, unmoving, until she awoke again, she was sure. Her eyes were growing heavy, and even as her body crawled into the coolness of her sheets, the small smile that played across her lips did not falter. Those lips that tasted of sea salt and a certain blonde pirate. She could not put a name to that flavour, but it was sweet in its essence and she dared not lick her lips to taste it too many times lest it be washed away too soon. The pillow aside her head was pulled down to her chest once the covers lay low on her hips, and she breathed in its softness, longing for it to be Kara instead as her eyes drifted shut and she fell asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~

As she stepped up to the deck, her feet having shuffled along the gangplank safely so that she may keep her eyes locked on the stars above, Kara was met by Vasquez with a cheeky grin on her face. “An evening dip?” she asked, and the universe sighed as Kara finally lost her balance and reached out to the rail to support herself. She looked down at her shoes, sandy and scuffed, then up to Vasquez whose conniving grin seemed to challenge the stars for brightness, and she scowled with a smile in return.

“You startled me,” she grumbled, stepping past the other woman to the flat and secure deck.

“You were looking up to the sky; I supposed you would see me as well,” Vasquez argued.

“I was distracted.”

“By the stars?” the dark-haired woman coyly inquired, and Kara knew that she was on the verge of being found out, but then the stars were truly distracting her thoughts again.

“Yes!” she practically yelled, and Vasquez took a step back in astonishment. “The stars! Vasquez, I need to see that map of the night sky. The one in J’onzz’s office.”

“I do not think we should, Kara.”

“But the stars!” she repeated, with somehow more urgency this time and began stepping backwards towards the bridge, intent on making the other woman follow her. “I saw it before, and I’ve been seeing those same constellations again and again, almost for my whole life,” she rambled and Vasquez obliged to follow, but was still confused.

“I’m confused. Kara,” she said, reaching out to the other woman’s arm lest she stumble backwards onto the stairs that lead to the bridge. “Explain this to me.”

“My father loved the night sky, he told me of it, and taught me of it and the constellations above me are as familiar to me as the lines on my palm,” she said, showing her worn palm with scattered scars for emphasis. “I think my father knows where the treasure is.”

“But Kara...” Vasquez worried, her brows furrowing and her hand wrapping more securely, yet gently around the blonde’s wrist.

“I know, he’s dead, but Vasquez!”

“Kara!” she repeated her tone but not her volume, begging her to quieten down.

“I have a feeling, and I know that is not enough to go on, but I think that it is all that we have...” she began, relinquishing her hands from the other woman’s grasp and reaching for her father’s book. She flipped the pages to the one so often stared at, so often left at before she fell asleep, and turned it to point at the sketch of the stars above baby Kara’s head. “My father says I was born under the stars of Hercules, and-“

“And that’s why you are so strong?” Vasquez asked, lightly punching the blonde’s upper arm that was indeed quite muscular.

A stern look from Kara, because she really did have a point to all of this. “My father... my father, Vasquez...” and her mood changed, as she sat down on the stairs. The alcohol that swam through her brain ran dry of energy and found solace in the emotion of what she was thinking and feeling. “We had to leave our island because of invaders, and I do not remember even being able to take my favourite rod.”

“Rod?” Vasquez asked, kneeling down in front of Kara.

“Fishing rod. It was a stick, a glorified stick and we could not even take that. We sailed and got lost, and mother cried and father...” she tapered off as her bottom lip began to quiver, but then she brought it in between her teeth to silence with a bite. Vasquez’s hand came to her shoulder and helped her to sit on the steps. “I feel as if these constellations that J’onzz had circled on that map, and my father’s seeming repeating in my head of Hercules, of ‘she was born under the stars and had lightening in her eyes’ is something more than just a sketch on a page in a book he once gave me.”

“A feeling in your gut?”

“In my soul as well,” she said, looking up into comforting eyes. “I do not know if what I am saying means that this treasure was once mine, or that maybe it simply just lays hidden on an island I used to call home, but...”

“It is a feeling.”

“And it is a lead, a clue that we have yet to come across.”

“Do you know which island it is?”

“No...” and Kara’s smile faltered for a moment. “I cannot remember, but... I do know it’s home and that I shall recognise it when I see it.”

“Well, then. I trust in you to find our treasure and your home,” Vasquez said with a smile and a gentle hand to the blonde’s shoulder.

Kara felt a smile creep across her lips, because the feeling of home in her heart that once was tied to that island was so long gone that she could barely find it when she tried, but now... with the talk of her life born under the stars and destined to stay there; maybe this was what was meant to happen. Maybe this was where the treasure sat. Maybe this was how she was supposed to find home again.

A frown; home. “Alex....”

“They’ll be returning tomorrow eve,” Vasquez said. But I’m sure that Winn would love to discuss this with you tomorrow morning as well,” she continued with a pat, then a push up using Kara’s shoulder before she set off to go below deck and tell the quartermaster.

“Lena...” and suddenly Kara’s heart was filled with an odd flutter, a spark of something and she felt it reach her shoulders and they were lighter; her smile and it was brighter; her breath and she was freer. Somehow, in the throws of her life like the ocean waves that surrounded her, she had been welcomed into the arms of people so genuinely and warmly that she had found a place for herself wherever she went. Somehow, and she wondered how the constellation she was born under had blessed her like this, but she had found herself lucky enough to find more than one home.

~ ~ ~ ~

She swung in her hammock that night, at ease and content to simply stare out the small porthole across the cabin to the starry sky and whisper herself a sweet lullaby. Something about dreams and wishing, and how love would find her if she kept her eyes upon the stars above her. Her mother used to sing it to her, and she used to remember all the words, even the melody, but now, many years later, her mind had lost the details and the tune; only had it held on to the words that had always stuck to Kara’s little brain as she drifted off to sleep. “Wish upon that star, the one I always show you, my little Kara, and you will find love, you will never be alone,” her father’s words would soothe as he carried her to her little bed where her mother sat singing.

The hammock rocked her from side to side, the gentle rhythm the beat of her mother’s hand as it tapped along on her back until her eyes closed. She was in waters that her parents had never sailed to, yet was under stars that they always spoke to, and so she was as good as home in their arms.

Thumping from above deck came, a more sturdy and resounding footstep off-set with the odd shout and holler, and Kara was woken from her sleep, sunshine streaming through the porthole now. She opened her mouth and yawned a satisfied yawn and pushed herself up and out. She pulled on her boots and stumbled up the stairs seeing that the rabble that had so rudely awoken her was from the men of the crew playing one of their pathetic, yet somehow amusing games with rocks and money. The day was free, unburdened by work or preparing for sail – not just yet anyway – and so the crew of the mighty Deo seemed to be soaking up the joy that the sun offered.

She smiled, not wanting to get involved no matter how many times she was beckoned to join, and instead made her way to the bridge where Vasquez and Winn stood talking. She surmised as she approached them that they were talking of Kara’s slightly drunken and seemingly profound discovery the night before.

They were, and Vasquez offered an arm to Kara as she stepped up beside them for her to recount her plan for herself. “And so, you think that perhaps one of these constellations that your father writes about, is indeed the very one that J’onzz needs to be following?” Winn asked.

“That is what my gut is telling me, yes,” Kara answered, and in the sober light of day, it did seem like more of a dream than a certain feeling. Vasquez, however, was all the more invested in the option today than she was the night before – although Kara couldn’t have been sure for she was entirely too engrossed in her own words when she had first been telling the other woman about it.

“Well, then,” Winn started, stepping back towards the captain’s cabin in such a way that looked as if he had been rehearsing it for the day that he would be captain; maybe not of this ship, but a captain one day, nonetheless. “I suppose we had better plot this course to show J’onzz when he returns,” and there was a twinkle in his eye that made Kara feel again, in her gut and her heart, that this was what was meant to be happening.

She stepped into the cabin, and Winn had thrust the curtains over the windows open, allowing more light into the room than she had ever seen occupy it, and took a breath in of the fresh atmosphere and floating bits of dust. As she took in the room, almost anew with this different lighting upon its features – details of woodwork now shown in greater accuracy, old maps shown with colour that would otherwise be a dark wash under J’onzz’s lighting, the subtle glint of bottles that held rum and coin and scrolled notes in cupboards – Winn and Vasquez swept the room over, collecting the necessary maps and logs to plot this potential course. When the shuffling of paper had subsided, and they were ready for her and her father’s book, Kara retrieved it from her shirt pocket, slowly and with a grip of pride that it was now to be used for.

In all her life, this book with faded words and scrawled diagrams had simply been the book of fairy tales that she would read to fall asleep to. Now, it was the encyclopaedia of knowledge and hidden secrets that was to guide them to treasure and salvation. She opened it slowly, flipping through crisp pages to the one that it would ultimately open to if she had simply dropped it on the table. “She was born under the colours of a storm, lightning in her eyes and thunder in her bones; the constellation of Hercules above her to guide her,” Winn mused, running his fingertips over the words as he read them, much like Kara used to do when her heart grew tight with the absence of her father’s embrace. “Hercules...” he repeated, and Kara stepped forward, pressing past the book to the map of the night sky below.

“It is seen on the horizon for most of the summer night, and only – according to my father,” she continued, flicking further into the book to another common page that she rested on. “Does Hercules rise into the open sky in the early hours of the morn, standing strong and tall so that he may protect.”

“And that is when you were born?” Vasquez asked, trying to piece it all together.

“Yes, in the morning darkness before sunrise. And see, I do not know if this means... I don’t know.... what I am thinking or _hoping_ it might, but...”

“We haven’t anything else to go on,” Winn finished with an optimism to his voice that sounded as if he believed it to be true as well. “Especially, as neither you or I – actually, anyone who is not the captain or Alex – knows what the clue that Lord gave was, either.”

“We shall have to ask J’onzz of it when he returns, and hopefully both pieces of this puzzle fit together,” Vasquez mused, and with a smile of agreeance from both other people, they looked back to the maps to begin their task.

Over the next few hours, Kara relived her father’s words more times that she had ever thought to in a day, but each time her tears grew nearer, they would rest and think back on happier times or other constellations that Kara knew of. She knew them all, or at least, that is what Winn exclaimed when he asked of some obscure one, and she recounted its history as well. She would ramble about the Greek mythology that birthed the starry myth, or the queen that this one was named after. She would draw the outlines of the constellations on that map when neither Winn nor Vasquez could see why a smattering of dots added up to a scorpion, revelling in their ‘ahhh’s of understanding, and laugh a moment later when they said that they could not find it again.

The oceans seemed so much larger when they had come close to plotting their course; Kara had of course been on Deo when it sailed for weeks on end, sometimes without seeing land for most of those voyagers, but now that they had a goal, one of which was somewhere deep in her own history, the oceans that she grew up on seemed strange and so much more than she could ever manage. They would need to sail steadfast with all sails full for nearly a week for them to reach the heel of Hercules if the summer storms were proving to be as difficult as the growing dark clouds out the windows were making them out to be. From there, Winn surmised that it would be Kara’s memories job to guide them the rest of the way and the thought scared her, but she knew in her mind’s eye that the places her father took her to, and the rocks that she used to jump off would be familiar to her as soon as she laid eyes on them.

J’onzz most certainly had a few memories of his own, secrets as they were, tucked up his sleeve for when they neared their goal, but as far as Deo knew, the fate of this treasure, the fate that was to place it dancing through their fingers and into their pockets, was up to Kara and the little stack of pages that she kept so near to her heart.

~ ~ ~ ~

The rail was now hers, always was if she was being honest with herself, and might very well always be, for she never saw another soul at her spot, running their fingertips across the grooves that she nervously carved, and soothingly softened. It was as home to her as any place might be on Deo; her bunk where she had oft whispered to Alex aside her on her first weeks as crew, or on the bridge being congratulated by the esteemed captain, or on the rigging, in the crow’s nest, the bow with the glorious summer wind in her face, and yet none of so many joyous locations on her home on the sea was as special to her as the rail with the notches.

It was where she worried herself tired, or longed her heart aching, dreamt of what could be and imagined herself making it come true, only to find herself still running her fingertips through those same grooves. She would stand and look ashore – and so it was the part of home that connected her to the outside world, the world with land – watching as her love was embraced by the darkness instead of her arms, watching as Cat had once waved and she would wave back, and now Lena would look back as her face was kissed by the shadows, knowing that those kisses would be all the more sweet if they were from Kara. The rail with the notches was not simply her home as the other spots may be because of their joyous moments and familiarity, but because it seemed to hold the true essence of who and what Kara was. Who she was, was a pirate prodigy, J’onzz once joked, but what she was, was a lonely-hearted girl who dreamed of something more.

That _more_ was something so simple, so singular, and yet it translated to _so much more_ because to obtain it and keep what she already had was a worry in her mind. She wanted her pirate’s life and her could-be-deadly sword fights, the slashing of blood sprayed across her shirt and then the rum that drowned it out. She wanted the long weeks at sea, and the wind in her knotted hair, the rumble of her stomach from eating nothing but bananas and simply craving a crumb of bread. She wanted the burn of her hands as the rigging tested her strength, and the squalls of rain that threatened the preservation of her father’s book, always soaking the edges but never making the old ink run.

She wanted all of it and all of it for the rest of her life, but when they docked, and sand was under her feet, she wanted to run into arms that had ached for her. She wanted to feel that ache through the wind and the lashing, the terrifying waves and the onset of rocky bays; she wanted to feel that craving in her heart so much stronger than the rumble of her stomach so that when she ran into those arms, it was so nourishing and all she needed, that her genuine hunger was forgotten. She wanted to love and be loved and not have to choose between her life and that love.

But it had always been a struggle, and that was why Alex would cry at night sometimes. Kara’s older sister was good at keeping herself together, but Vasquez was a temporary solution for her own hunger and craving, and Kara had known for months that that craving... that love was for Maggie. Alex loved Maggie, and Maggie loved Alex and Kara was sure that everyone in Port Nationale knew and had known for as long as she, and yet they were not together. And yet they were not the destined couple of the town. And yet when Deo docked and Alex stepped foot ashore, she would run into Maggie’s arms but would have to leave soon enough or be subtle while she stayed.

Because while Port Nationale was distanced from the mainland and its heavy societal norms and expectations, it was still frowned upon to be a woman loving another woman. J’onzz was a good man, an understanding and kind captain, but in his eyes – although Kara had never found the courage to really question or challenge him on it – a pirate of Deo was that first and a citizen of Port Nationale second. Being as such was hard for any pirate, especially so if they were a first mate, or a quartermaster, and even more so if they were attracted to their same gender. It was the way of the times in a world that was not designed for them – not Alex or Kara, nor Maggie or even J’onzz – no matter how much the stars appeared to twinkle more in their lover’s eyes.

So, Kara was worried and hesitant and tried to drown the ache in her chest and the hunger in her belly as much as she could with rum when she could, for she saw Alex do the same. After a drink or two of wonder... _is it really all that bad? Is it really not meant to be?_ Kara would realise that Lena was also the mayor with a name of Luthor attached to her, and while Kara had forgiven in her mind whatever that could mean of Lena, knowing that she was good and could be trusted with her life and love, J’onzz had not been privy to those moments of trust and respect. From his dark cabin on a sometimes-lonely ship, he still saw the name ‘Luthor’ before ‘Lena’ or even ‘Mayor.’ He saw what that name, or even that power could do, could ruin and so his levels of trust for Lena were even half as true as they were only because Kara said that she was worth it.

She knew that Lena was worth it – with every cell in her aching body, did she know – and yet the captain, the town, the society stood in her way just as much as it did with Alex and Maggie. She picked out a new groove, deeper and wider, using only her fingernails this time and not relying on the tip of her dagger or a nail in her pocket, as she wished. Looking over her shoulder as she oft did to see her father’s eyes in the stars of Hercules looking down upon her, she wished. If those barriers and obstacles were not there, if they did not weigh down on her shoulders making it harder to breathe more than that ache in her chest, would it maybe then be possible?

A punch to the rail now, bruising and cracking at her knuckle before she recoiled and shook that sorry fist, because she was a pirate, and always would be. And Lena was the mayor, and while she mightn’t always be, she was still bound to the land that they met on as much as she ever would be. Kara would still leave for long weeks with no ability to deliver letters to Lena’s lonesome side, and so it would be silent. She could wish to the stars and whisper her messages to the waves, hoping that Lena would hear her love’s words in the dead of night, but that would be all.

And so, she worried. She dreamed, and she wished, and she ached, but she worried the most and she could feel it under her nails with each splinter that hurt her as well.

“You worry too much,” a voice came, familiar and masked in the night that had approached suddenly as Kara had stood at the rail for hours, it must have been. Alex’s tired feet scuffed up the gangplank and she smiled sleepily at the presence of her sister. “Will you tell me what is wrong?” Kara bowed her head as she outstretched her arm, pulling her sister into a squeezing embrace. “Or will I decide to drop the façade just the same and tell you that you should go to Lena anyway?”

“What?” Kara asked, pushing Alex back as her head snapped up and her eyes glistened wildly in the moonlight. “You know?”

“I know you better than you know yourself. I know you better than I know me, as well, to be quite honest, and you know that. That is why when I worried, you told me to go to Maggie anyway because at least in her arms I would worry less.”

“But you still worry?” the blonde asked, and her sister’s sympathetic smirk appeared as she tilted her head.

“Baby girl, we are human. We worry whether we want to or not; whether we _need_ to or not.”

“You love Maggie,” Kara stated, and Alex chuckled.

“I do,” she said. “It is difficult and I am not sure if I should tell her, because it would only grow more difficult and-“

“But do you not think that it would be worth it?” and Alex quirked her head again. “Do you not think – because I know that she loves you too – that any difficulties and time apart would be worth it just to love each other and be with each other when you can?”

Alex smiled, and she nodded to herself, because she was also sure that those words were exactly what Kara needed as well, yet could not see. “Kara,” she said softly, turning them away from staring out to shore, looking instead at the ship that was their home. “J’onzz has his rules and his stuck-in-his-way prejudices, but...”

“And they are what worries me so!”

“ _But..._ it is not his life that you are living. I know he distrusts Lena, and even I am not entirely sure why, but _you_ do. You trust her, and out of everyone on this island, you know her best. So, go to her. Tell her that you care for her, that you want to kiss her.”

“Oh, I’ve already kissed her,” Kara mused lightly, trying to suppress a smile. She looked up into Alex’s eyes, finding shock, and smiled finally as she continued. “A few times, actually.”

“Then why are you still here?” and it was loud enough to most certainly wake someone, but they didn’t care.

“Why are you still here?” Kara rebutted through her laughter, and oh, how it felt good to laugh after having her heart plagued with uncertainty and dread.

“Because I am tired but still have to set the ship right before we leave tomorrow!”

“We leave tomorrow?” and Kara’s laughter carried through to excitement as her eyes widened.

“Yes,” Alex said, or rather whined, because she really was very tired. “J’onzz is a half day behind me and so when he arrives tomorrow at noon, we are to leave and follow the wake of the sun.”

“And then what?”

“I am not sure, little astronomer. He apologies for not having time to talk about what you had figured out... or discovered, was it?”

“No matter,” Kara said, with a wave of her hand. “I was not sure then. But I do know now,” and there was more optimism in her voice then, much like how Winn had sounded earlier in the day. “I shall tell you both tomorrow, if Winn does not beat me to it.”

“A good plan?”

“I’m hoping,” and there was that wishful smirk again.

“Well, enough with the hoping for tonight, little one. Go and make your dreams come true,” and with a frivolous wave, so spectacular and romantic that Kara could not tell her sister off for being sappy, Alex stepped aside to allow Kara to pass ashore. She giggled to herself as she stepped down the gangplank, turning back to half yell, “come and get me if it gets too late,” her swagger making the sword at her side swing about. She rested her hand on its hilt, and only once her boot had pressed into the sand did she realise what was to happen now as her feet carried her through town. She could barely find the commands in her brain to stop walking, let alone to think through what she might say.

Before she could turn or detour herself away to afford her some time to gather her thoughts and her nervous hands, she was there, at Lena’s door with her foot perched on the top step and her knuckles, now bruised by the rail, rapping on the door. After the last rap of blood had seeped into the wood, Kara placed her palm over it, flat against the door and with her eyes closed to the dark night and what was to happen next, she could hear Lena’s footsteps descend the stairs and pad to the front door to turn the handle.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed and I also hope that this is enough to whet your appetite for the next chapter *wink wink* tbh I wish it were next week so y'all can get chapter 14 already!!


	14. CHAPTER FOURTEEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is babes; I've been waiting all week like a nervous idiot to give y'all this chapter, so I hope you enjoy and it's what you've all hoped it would finally be xo

Lena had always felt a wistfulness that moments in her life would repeat, or at least she hoped to feel it. There were times in her life that she felt hopeful for an event, sometimes barely even that, to repeat itself, to bring itself into her life again. She had once found a love and while it was not everything she now hoped that love would be, at the time it was sweet and what she needed, with comforting words and consoling arms to hold her on her darker days. She hoped to find that love again; any love again.

She always imagined a strike of electricity running through her veins as a moment appeared, so that she may grab onto it with recognition that she had experienced it and its joy before; a memory to live again, a comfort to find again, a kiss to melt into again. But no matter how she hoped and believed – for she truly did believe no matter how hard it was at times – those moments, those sparks of electricity to light up her life again never came.

She would sit and wait, hope for dreams to come true, and she would do what little she could to eventuate those dreams, but upon lingering in the snow to long, hoping to feel the smattering of a snowball to her back like the ones Jack used to throw at her, she would catch a chill instead and be berated by her mother. Upon ordering a drink on a young woman’s behalf at one of her family’s extravagant but far too overly-done events, she would be pushed aside by an angry or amused husband, and so she retreated to the shadows or the safety of her room and wondered why she ever bothered to dream, let alone try for them to come true.

So, in Lena’s eyes, it was odd for her to have taken her life at first chance – not second with the example of first telling her that it was possible – and to have left her life to make her dreams come true. Her simple dreams of running away and being her own person, her own family, her own keeper until she reached a ship to travel even further from what home she had grown up with. Something about the ocean reminded her of when a fox would dash through a stream on the run from hunting dogs, knowing that their scent would be lost in the current. Lena stepped onto that creaking, and rum and ocean drenched ship, knowing that her scent would be lost and she, as a whole woman, could be lost along with it.

She would make her own dreams come true.

While Lena was aware at how she had come to Port Nationale, buying her way into her new home, she was proud in herself that she had done everything in her greatest efforts to earn that sense of home as well. When a smile was needed to close a deal, cement a friendship, make trust believable and true, she would offer it first. When she was feeling like she could be doing more, she pushed aside the paperwork for a day and went out to the docks and the streets, knowing that the people were what made the town run, not the order forms on her desk. In Lena’s short time at Port Nationale, she had spoken to more people from many more walks of life than she thought ever to have spoken to in New York. She was kept on a leash there, but in the warmth of the Caribbean, she had tossed that leash aside for no one was to heed her commands unless they wanted to. She wanted nothing of a friendship if it was not truly wanted, and that is where she found herself with Kara.

At first, she had been hesitant of the pirate’s desire to interact with her, thinking that it was to be simply for the benefit of the ship, and while she was not blind to that being perhaps a slither of what was happening, she also believed so strongly in her heart – with a dash of her loneliness to edge it along – that Kara genuinely wanted to be her friend. She wanted to be Kara’s as well, and as their trust and friendship grew, so organically and kindly, she couldn’t help but fall for the pirate. She knew that she was a pirate, of course, and that that would produce its own difficulties or obstacles later on, or even as soon as it had started, but with all that essence and electricity that she felt coursing through her as she gazed into Kara’s eyes, as she tended to her wounds, as she held her hand and kissed her, she knew that it would be worth it.

She knew that it was what she wanted and had dreamed of for so long.

With every day that had passed in the recent week, from their misunderstanding to their apologies – of which Lena didn’t feel she was owed but accepted nonetheless for Kara had so sincerely offered it – to their private moments of talk and tender care, to kisses and touches and familiarity, Lena felt them grow closer together and could see in Kara’s eyes what she felt glistening in her own: love. Honest and genuine love, a love that she had never felt in such a force, driving her every thought and every move. It consumed her and filled her lungs with the freshest air they had ever tasted, and while it felt so strong and compelling, it was also as gentle as the waves that had danced across her skin and the deftness of Kara’s lips on hers.

It was a love that was everything and in every kind of way, and that is how she knew that it was real and worth it. It was not there for the joys and abandoning in the hardships, nor fair weather and never as impressive as a storm. It was everything, and she wanted everything with Kara.

And so, when she heard the rapping at her door, so late in the evening and so nervously out of any possible rhythm, her heart began to race with more electricity than she ever thought could consume it. Her bare feet edged across the entrance way floor gingerly, not wanting to rush herself and be disappointed if it was not Kara, because there were certainly many other people it could logically be. She reached for the handle and turned, and as the moonlight from outside began to pour in, before she had even seen Kara’s face, she heard her nervous breathing and her heart burst. It was not some random drunkard, nor was it Cat or Lucy or even James; it was the only person she had ever dreamed it to be.

While Lena stood smiling, her teeth beaming brightly and her eyes sparkling, Kara’s mind was still a blank. She had no words that could be said, not even a ‘hello’ would do, she thought, but it did not matter, for almost as it was left a few nights before, Lena’s hand reached forward and wound itself into Kara’s shirt, pulling her in. She stepped through the archway and found an odd solace in the creaking of the door closing. She looked up from the wood, the tarnished handle that Lena’s hand rested on as it closed past her, and found the brunette’s eyes on her.

“I dream,” Kara said, and she had no idea why in that moment they were the words her brain deemed suitable to say, but somehow, they were right and as the door clicked shut beside her, Lena leant up and brought their lips together with enough of a sudden force to result in them barraging into the other closed door. She did dream, and this is what it felt like every time.

Her brain went both quiet and continued its searching buzzing, and she still couldn’t fathom why, for she was really to intently focussed on the feeling on her lips becoming bruised and her shirt being tugged out of her pants, but in between kisses, she found herself uttering words and phrases that her heart had been begging to say for weeks. _I want you, I need you, your lips taste like home, and your hands feel like they were born to hold me_.

They stumbled across the entrance way, and towards the stairs, those utterances and the shuffling of their feet the only soundtrack to the moment, but in the darkness of night, and the elusiveness of the stairs, they were to halt their motions so that they may edge up to Lena’s bedroom safely. Step by step was shroud in pitch darkness, but upon reaching higher, Lena’s hand guiding her further, a simple candle seemed to begin to illuminate. These stairs were familiar, and of course Kara knew it to be because she had climbed them many times, and most often was lead to the kitchen, but this time Lena turned them towards her room, the candle now shining brightly.

Kara had been there before, in the darkness to relay a message, but also on another occasion when there was a candle and Lena’s hand in hers too. She thought back through her mind as her brow furrowed, her feet taking her around the edge of the bed. She looked across to her side and saw the window open, moon and dimming starlight breaking through the clouds and the sheer curtain, and then the other woman was beckoning her to sit. The bed was simple, and the mattress cloudy, and her memory, her _dream_ seemed to be making itself more clear in her mind as it was played out in front of her. Lena’s dark curls fell down across her face as she bent down, gently caressing the blonde’s face with her fingertips, and Kara felt a soft gasp fall from her lips.

Lena’s hair tickled her nose, and she closed her eyes as they began to dully burn. She felt her chin cradled and tilted up, and then it was there, her waking moment and the reality that her dream was coming true: Lena’s soft lips pressed to her forehead, and as a tear crept out of her eye and down to her cheek, she was home.

In following moments, minutes, hours, that tear was kissed away and replaced by others. She had never felt in her life – not even on the most favourable days on Deo – so completely and perfectly right. It felt right to be kissed by a woman, and to hold her in return. It felt perfect to tug on Lena’s hair so that her tongue knew to continue on that spot of her inner thigh. It felt so entirely how the world was meant to be for her when she had her mouth on Lena’s skin and her own fingers inside the brunette. Not a single moment in her life could compare, or would compare, to loving Lena and being loved by her in return.

And Lena, who was much in the same position as her lover, had never known anything to taste so sweet as those warm and clinging hours with Kara. Everything of the blonde tasted sweet and delectable to her; her lips, her breasts, her hips and her thighs, the sweat that tickled at her back against sheets, and the sticky sweet of the love that poured from her after her nails had long dragged and dug into the skin of the brunette’s back. Lena had known hunger in her heart and her soul, this hunger for Kara, much like Kara hungered for her, and as they looked into each other’s eyes as the moonlight began to fade further behind dark clouds, a smile was all that was needed to say to each other how much that all they wanted to taste for the rest of their lives was each other.

“I love you,” Lena whispered against Kara’s lips.

“I love you, too.”

In the last wick of the candle, they lay, still pressed together; Kara wrapped between Lena’s legs and resting atop her, holding herself up just enough to enjoy the sensation of Lena’s chest rising to meet hers as she breathed. Soft kisses were pressed slowly and endlessly, with smiles scattered throughout as they breathed each other in. Kara took herself on a journey, titling her head to kiss from lips, to chin, to neck and that scar, then back up to Lena’s waiting and reddened lips again. With each slow blink, Kara was cherishing the woman beneath her and worshipping her face with kisses.

Lena smiled under those kisses, every time, for she was still in a pleasant hue of surprise that they were together so calmly and lovingly. With a gentle breath in, deep into her lungs so that they may enjoy the scent of Kara, she started to whisper in between kisses. “I want you to never stop kissing me, yet also to stop, just so that I may crave you,” and so Kara stopped. She stopped just for a moment, just to let the other woman crave her, lean up to meet her, and follow her as she pulled back teasingly. Lena groaned in impatience, in that craving – for she would need to practise being without... but not just yet – and so Kara lamented, lowering herself down to kiss her again, soundly and with her hands moving against sheets to press into Lena’s skin and enjoy that craving too.

~ ~ ~ ~

Her eyes fluttered open a few hours later, with Lena tucked into her side and their legs entwined at the calves, and she breathed in. Kara could smell the rain on the sand and the ocean outside, but more importantly, with Lena nuzzling in at her neck, she could smell the brunette. She could smell the slight sweat that still clung to her skin and the sheets around her. She could smell the salt still in her hair from their swim days ago – or maybe Lena had taken herself for another one since. She could smell herself on Lena’s lips, and Lena on her own. She could smell everything that was Lena and as thunder rumbled in the distance and the echoing of crashing waves from the cove and docks reached her ears, Kara turned herself more into the woman at her side and closed her eyes.

~ ~ ~ ~

Kara lay so peacefully and freely; her legs spread and an arm bent up beside and around her head. She was breathing quietly as she lulled in between a light sleep and a peaceful glow, enjoying in those quiet moments how Lena would blush into her pillow and stare at her. As she breathed in deeply again, the welcomed fresh morning air gracing her skin, she awoke with a running shiver, from her ribs to her thighs and down to her toes. She stretched them and found that such a waking shiver was at the blame of Lena.

The brunette had edged closer towards Kara in the morning glow and as the casting shadows fell over her hip bones, breasts and shoulders like waterfalls, Lena had begun to reach out and caress. At first it had been a gentle caress with her breath, fascinated at how the bulb of Kara's nipple had contracted and hardened, and then a touch with the back of her fingers.

The coolness of Kara's side, her breast, had felt so pristine compared to the warmth of Lena's fingers and she had told herself to stop, or at least caress more sparingly as to not erase and replace that cool skin with warm instead. But of course, now that she had come into contact with perfection, she could hardly resist. Inevitably so, Kara's breast had grown warm to Lena's touch, prompting the brunette to return to breathy caresses in hope to cool the skin down again.

And thus, Kara had awoken.

She turned her head to the side, looking as much over her bent arm as possible to the hypnotised woman who lay beside her. Lena had seemed not to notice her return to consciousness and so Kara kept quiet and watched. She watched as Lena slowly opened her lips around a breath and then blew just enough for the air to dance around and over Kara's breast. She watched as Lena brought her lips together and stuck her tongue out to remoisten dried lips, warm lips. She watched as Lena, inch by inch and quietly so, leaned in towards Kara to press a deft kiss to the again cooled skin of her attention.

She felt, for the sensation had caused her eyes to flutter closed, how Lena broke the kiss and shifted, pressing another, then shifted again; repeated this action until a trail was being formed and the brunette was pushing herself up and towards Kara just enough to press kisses lightly across her chest and collarbones. A slight pause, and then a firmer kiss to Kara's shoulder and a nose nuzzling in at her cheek.

"Sorry to wake you, my love," Lena's voice hummed, before yet another kiss was left on warm skin.

Kara smiled softly, her eyes closing again as she did; what a most beautiful way to be woken. She opened her eyes again slowly with a deep breath, tensing muscles as she did in attempts to wake up. Her arms flexed and stretched above her head before sweeping down the mattress beside her, collecting Lena on her way with her left arm. The brunette wriggled in closer, most contentedly using the blonde’s arm as a pillow as she draped her leg over Kara’s. “Good morning,” Kara spoke, and the words sounded so foreign in her mouth, for she rarely ever had a someone to greet when she awoke. On occasion, Alex would be the first that she met above deck, and would greet her, but that was because they were sisters. Otherwise a smile would do before starting her day.

“Good morning,” Lena muttered, nuzzling into Kara’s neck to kiss the soft spot beneath her ear.

In the back of Kara’s mind, she knew that her entire day could not be spent in bed, no matter how much she longed for it, nor how much Lena might tempt her, for Deo was to sail not long after noon. “What time is it?” she asked, and could feel Lena grumble her way into nuzzling deeper into Kara’s neck in protest before answering.

“Just after ten.”

“I cannot stay for long. We are to set sail today.”

“Where to?” Lena asked, looking up at Kara as Kara looked at the ceiling.

“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. I suppose we... I shall have to speak with J’onzz before we do leave. He has not heard of my starry plan as yet.”

“But others have?”

“Oh, yes. I told our coxswain and quartermaster yesterday and they seem rather optimistic about it,” Kara said with a gentle little squeeze to Lena’s shoulder.

“I am glad. But for now,” the brunette said, bringing herself up to hover over and aside Kara before bringing herself down to kiss and then whisper against her lips. “We shall have tea.” She pulled back with a smile, but saw that Kara’s was apprehensive. “You have had tea before?”

“Maybe twice in my life.”

“Well then,” she said with another kiss, edging her way out of bed. “I shall have to make it for you more often,” and then she left, grabbing her white robe from the foot of the bed where it always was, but had since slipped further off during the night due to the more restless behaviour of the covers.

Kara smiled as she sat up to stretch her shoulders and neck, hoping that yes, there would indeed be many more occasions where Lena were to offer her a sweet cup of tea; after a meeting, or dinner at the tavern, or for breakfast on many a morning after. She turned her head to each side, enjoying the slight crack that resounded in her ears, and was joyfully surprised at the lack of depth in each of them; she had succumbed to a restful night’s sleep in a bed far more comfortable than any she had ever slept in, and so her body was not aching upon waking up for a change.

Then she simply sat. Her eyes wondered about the room and through the morning breeze in the curtains, she could see the distant masts of Deo and other ships and smiled at the image of Lena standing there every morning to see her. Her mirror that was tarnished, but of course was in better condition than any small and undoubtedly cracked mirror onboard, and then to the brass bathtub by the other window. Her smile did not falter, only quirked a little more at the thought of Lena relaxing in it on a warm evening, her breasts buoyant in the water that maybe had petals scattered in it on occasion. Kara had no idea where Lena might get petals, but she had read it in a book once, and thought that Lena would enjoy that very much.

And then to the bedside tables; the one nearer the door with the candle stick on it, and the one further to the tub with... a nail. Kara reached over, coming to lie on her stomach with the sheets twisting in her ankles as she outstretched her arm and picked up the nail delicately between two fingers. She brought it back towards her and smiled, brighter than she already had been; Lena kept her nail. Her nail and Lena. Lena that had a mysterious cut on her neck that was neat but not neat enough to have been done by a knife.

“Oh, my god...” she whispered, and spun when she heard the creak of floorboards at the doorway under Lena’s step. “Did you use my nail to cut your neck?” and Lena froze.

She placed the two fine china cups of tea down next to the candle stick and frowned at herself, looking down to her feet as if she were a child being reprimanded. “I did.”

“I don’t know why... but... that’s sort of romantic,” Kara said, and her lips quirked again as Lena’s eyes flashed up to meet her.

“Romantic?”

“Yes... again, I don’t know why,” Kara said as Lena pulled up at the hem of her robe and crawled onto the bed over to her. Before she could explain her odd feeling of romanticism, Lena was cupping her face and kissing her.

“I do not know why I used it either, to be quite honest but...”

“You did.”

“I did.”

“For me?” Kara asked, with the tone of a statement.

“Always for you.”

Kara smiled, and Lena smiled back and then they were kissing again. They held each other, and Kara slowly removed the brunette’s robe as she kissed her way down her body, fingertips digging into flesh followed by soft lips and needy teeth. By the time they got to their tea, it was long cold.

~ ~ ~ ~

They both padded to the kitchen slowly to make a new pot of tea when bed had grown too enticing. Kara never wanted to leave, and she whined as much to Lena as the brunette had rolled out of it, collecting the cold china with cold tea inside. “You told me yourself, Miss Danvers. You are to leave soon, and I will not be the cause of your absence from Deo when the time comes.” So, Kara had scurried out of the crisp and wrinkled sheets to nakedly follow after naked Lena to the kitchen instead. She wrapped her arms smoothly around the other woman once the cups were safely placed down, and buried her nose into dark tresses of salty hair. “Oh, don’t do that, Kara,” Lena protested, ducking her head forward, utterly unused to such a dry crunch to her hair, and wasn’t fussed on having her lover’s face nuzzled into it.

“Let me wash your hair,” Kara pressed forward in protest, edging them towards the window by the fireplace. It was an open window with no dressings or curtains to hide them from any roaming citizen of Port Nationale that may pass by the alleys below, but the cheeky pirate did not care as she spun Lena to kiss her. Lena’s arm and hip pressed against the cool glass and she breathed in sharply past Kara’s lips, smiling a little after the kiss broke. It felt good to be doing whatever it was that they were doing; _simply enjoying each other,_ her mind whispered.

“Wash my hair, you said?”

“Yes,” Kara said with a soft smile that was a little shy. Lena bit her lip and oh, how her heart fluttered at the idea of Kara caring for her.

“Alright then,” she hushed, before she was soundly kissed again, a satisfied hum reverberating through Kara’s lips to tickle hers.

At first, she wasn’t sure how to do it, to wash Lena’s hair for she had rarely ever done it properly for her own hair, but found shortly enough that it would be easier on another person. Lena knelt next to her tub of lukewarm water that was a day or two old – it was still good enough to clean her hair with – and a few floating bubbles on its surface, looking up at Kara with wide eyes and a nervous smile on her lips. “You do know how to do this, yes?”

“Use soap?” and she laughed because it wasn’t exactly what she was asking, but supposed that it also sort of was. “Lena, I may be a pirate, but I do know what basic hygiene is.” She bowed her head, fingers curling around the edge of the brass tub and let her hair fall over her shoulders to curtain her face. Closing her eyes, she couldn’t entirely wipe the small smile from her face as she heard Kara shuffle about beside her and then reach into the tub to soak the sponge that lived in there so that she may bring it up and wet Lena’s long hair.

It took a while, and there was not enough soap to ever fully clean her hair, but once Kara had rinsed it and wrung it dry, Lena relinquished her hold on the tub to run her fingers against and through her damp hair, finding it rather silky. “You are quite good at this,” she muttered, as Kara tapped her hand away so that she may finish her job. “I shall most definitely have to have you back another time.”

“I shall enjoy that,” Kara said, helping to pivot Lena so that she may drape and wrap a towel around her head without it dipping into the shallow water, even more murky than before. Still, Kara thought it would clean her well enough.

“How ever shall I thank you, ma’am?” Lena hummed, her lips quirking teasingly.

“A kiss, perhaps?” Kara mused, already leaning forward to meet the other woman’s lips. “And the promise of a bath when I return?” she smiled hopefully, teeth bared cheekily.

“Why not one now?”

“It looks as if it is to rain these next days, so it would not be the most clever decision, no matter how nice it felt,” Kara reasoned.

“Well, then,” Lena said, standing and offering a hand to the pirate. “One when you return.”

The overcast day was making it almost easy to forget that usually, they would be sweating quite a bit, quite naturally, but of course, they were nude still. When Kara stood by the sheer-curtained window and looked to the sky, seeing at least the glow of the sun from behind clouds that were too-angrily grey for her liking, she saw that it was nearing noon and she must get dressed. “As much as I have enjoyed this morning,” she began, before turning to face Lena who sat cross-legged in her open robe on the bed. “And last night,” a bite of her lip, “I must leave soon.”

“Yes, you must, despite how very much I would like you to stay.” It had been in the fore of her mind all morning, but now that it was so near, the fact that Kara was to leave and not return simply the next day dawned on her, on her heart so heavily. “How long are you to be gone?” she asked, and her eyes rudely began to burn.

“This weather will make it more difficult than we would hope, I’m sure. It may be a week before we even reach... wherever it is that we are to reach.”

“So, it could be a couple of weeks,” Lena said, nodding in protest of the soft tears that were in her eyes.

“But know this, my love,” and Kara could hardly breathe for a second afterwards; it felt so good and so _right_ to call Lena that. She crawled onto the bed in front of her, and kept advancing until Lena was lying on her back, wet towel on the sheets be damned. “I will whisper my love to you by the stars each night. I shall ask the waves to carry my kisses to you. I shall be the best I have ever been on Deo, and it will all be worth it to come back to your arms when we return.” Coming to lie on her again, nestled between Lena’s thighs, her fingertips caressing the tears away as they crept from the brunette’s eyes, she kissed her softly. “I am yours.”

She was, and Lena was hers; their hearts entwined now as much as their bodies were on messy sheets, lips dancing across and latching onto each other before the inevitable echo of hurried knocks on the front door broke them from the moment.

“That’ll be Alex. I told her to come and get me if I was not back at Deo by the time J’onzz returned.”

Lena smiled as she sighed, glad to have kept Kara by her side for as long as she had, but sad that it was now to end. Kara kissed her softly once more before pushing herself up and slipping away, pulling on her clothes that were scattered about the room. She was dressed far too quickly, and Lena had completely glazed over at the action that she hadn’t focussed on how Kara buttoned her shirt or hopped about to pull her boots on; all the little things that she was meant to memorise for when she was alone and lonely. Despite her wishes to come back to the real world, her mind stayed hazy and she only snapped back when a final kiss had left her lips and the blonde was walking to the bedroom door.

A jolt in her body and then the paces that followed, Lena carried herself to Kara's too-soon leaving figure at her doorway. The blonde stopped at the door, feeling the brunette wrap herself around her taller frame, around her arms and waist so that she could not move another inch. "Lena..."

"Please don't leave just yet, my love." It had grown common all of a sudden, for Lena to call Kara her love, and for Kara to breath in the warmth of the air that it created, buzzing around her ears. Kara did know, however, that such an endearment was hardly sudden when she knew, and felt it in herself too, that Lena had been calling her that silently for weeks now; a slow blink, a gentle touch of the hand, a wish of a pleasant day. They were all the silent callings of those words that simply precipitated the verbal demonstration.

"Alex is waiting, Lena. I have no choice, and you were the one who was so adamant of my not being late," Kara responded, although every inch of her being begged to simply crawl back into bed with Lena, to crawl back into Lena.

"When will I see you again?" Lena asked, no longer wanting to let those instances be by chance any more. She wanted to see Kara as oft as possible and to know when the next time may arrive.

"As soon as my boots touch the dock," the blonde began softly, a tone shift, as she equally shifted in the brunette's hold so that they may look upon each other's doting eyes. "My love," a smile from Lena. "When I do return, I am yours again. And the first moment that we have alone, I intend to kiss you."

Loosening her hold on Kara, to let her leave or because she melted at those words, Lena hummed as her eyes closed, already craving Kara's return before she had even left. "I look forward to it."

Kara bent down, craned her neck and pressed her lips to Lena's softly enough to hardly even be a kiss; a rest of them together simply for the comfort of each other's delicate touch. But, of course, she had to leave then, and did not want Lena to have to see her go, and so, "keep your eyes shut until I am gone?" to which Lena hummed her approval of the plan.

When Lena's eyes fluttered open once more, there was no warmth in them, only longing and sadness. She was alone and barely dressed in her room without the woman that had made it a home.

~ ~ ~ ~

Kara closed the door quietly behind her, as if she were sneaking from the house, and skipped down the few stairs to Alex; Alex with her puffy eyes and reddened lips – but not from kissing, Kara knew. From nervous biting. “What happened?” she asked, and they had barely taken a step back towards Deo.

“I told her that I love her,” _her_ being Maggie, and Kara smiled at the synchronicity of the sisters.

“So did I,” she said in return.

“And?” Alex asked, bubbly and excited despite the sadness that sat on her features.

“She said it back,” and of course, Kara could not deny the joyous grin on her face.

“She did?”

“Maggie didn’t?” she asked to Alex’s again saddened tone.

“No. Oh, I don’t know... I said it and then it was quiet; too quiet, for too long,” Alex hurried, her words fumbling over each other as her feet seemed to be doing, kicking through the sand of the streets.

“And you left?”

“She kissed me, but it wasn’t...”

“It wasn’t _I love you_...” and Alex could barely manage a shake of her head, let alone any words through her silent weep. Kara wrapped her arm around her sister, tucked her in close as they edged further towards the ship. She comforted her as effectively and much as she could in those few moments, for soon they were to be putting on their pirate faces again and hearing out J’onzz’s plan.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well???? What did we think?? I'm genuinely so curious to hear each and every one of y'all's comments so please shoot them thru to me xoxoxo


	15. CHAPTER FIFTEEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so so so so SO sorry for the late update!! One work day blends into the next, and I completely lost track of the fact that Friday had arrived until now!! (And I was sort of looking at Friday as "Disobedience day" and not simply "Friday" :P) Here's the new update, I hope you enjoy, I love you all, and again I am so sorry!! xoxo

Tugging up on the collar of her shirt, Alex wiped at the small tears at her cheeks as they moved through the chaotic deck of Deo. Thankfully, the busy time was enough to keep the crew focussed on their tasks readying the ship rather than noticing the elder Danvers – the tougher and unemotional Danvers – wiping away at tears. Kara tried her best as well to shield where she could the eyes of others or the motions of Alex until her sister let out a final sniffle and raised her head sharply, letting her know that she was back to business-as-usual.

With a nod in understanding, the two stepped up to the bridge where J’onzz was awaiting their arrival at his cabin door. They were ushered in and the door was left open. This was to be quick as they needed to leave. J’onzz’s hands, furiously rubbing at each other and kneading worried palms told Kara that something had spooked the man before his return to Port Nationale. Not a moment after they had taken their positions huddled around the desk – joined by Winn and Vasquez as well – J’onzz pressed those worried palms down as he hunched over the maps and scribbles.

“Daxam has already taken to the sea.”

“What?” Alex exclaimed. “Lord told us that they were still scrounging around for clues.”

“And that was the day before.” All other members of the crew present frowned in confusion and trepidation at what was to follow. “I fear Alex, that you are largely the reason that Lord has stayed alive up until now.”

“J’onzz...” she uttered, stepping only a fraction closer to the desk as the man stood behind it.

“With a blade to his throat he told me that it was a lie, and that that scrounging for clues, as you put it, was many days beforehand. He had received _thankful_ word,” the captain spat bitterly. “That Daxam had taken to the sea even before we had arrived.”

“I would like to run him through,” Alex hissed, and the tone would’ve scared Kara if she had not been feeling the same way.

“I would also like to do as much,” she said.

“No bother,” J’onzz said in a much calmer, more controlled voice. “I took the pleasure myself.” He placed his hand to the hilt of his sword, wrapping his fingers slowly and coolly around the handle as he took in steady breaths.

“But now,” Vasquez urged, pushing aside maps and looking up to Kara who nodded and stepped forward to point out her theories.

“Now we must plot our course so that we are absolutely sure of where we are to go. No time must be wasted, no clue overlooked. Kara, tell me of your ideas.” And so she did. She told him of the night sky and Hercules. She told him of her father and ended up retelling her life; all she could so that J’onzz may believe that there was worth in what she was saying. Up until then, they had had _almost_ plans, and _almost_ clues piece together, but never anything enough for them to leave port. None of it was ever enough for Kara to see the sparkle in her captain’s eye as his mind let it all click into place and he knew.

For she had never truly seen that glimmer and was not even sure in herself why she was expecting to see it, but when she did, oh, how her heart began to beat again, so hard that she supposed the entire crew could hear it. “The feeling that I have seen this, and found it before. They’re hardly clues to go by, but if a feeling is what you need to trust in, one in my gut that is unlike anything I’ve ever felt towards something,” and Kara felt herself lie in that moment in remembrance of the night before, “then this is what you now have.”

“This puzzle looks as if it is a memory for you,” J’onzz stated quietly, and Kara nodded. “There is just one... last... piece...” and he looked down at the maps as he spoke, shifting them about and turning them to Winn so that he may begin to plot the instance this last piece slipped into place.

“The clue from Lord?” Alex asked, and J’onzz nodded a small nod, lips tight and eyes shadowed by anticipatory eyebrows.

“The island of cat is where you shall find your treasure.”

It was simple enough, yet had obviously caused a great deal of confusion for those who had heard it. “Cat... not cats?” Alex asked, wondering why on earth there would be an island of only one cat.

“That is what I wondered, and he said ‘cat,’” J’onzz said, and slumped down into his seat when silence dragged on for a moment. It had been the clue to stump him and now it seemed as if it was the one that stumped the rest of his crew as well.

“Cat... Cat...” Kara muttered as she sifted through the maps, driving Winn to click his tongue at her as she messed up his plan. The Bahamas were a lovely scattering of islands, with a few small and a few larger, more obscurely shaped ones slotted in between. New Providence Island was small enough, and if they so desired, a day or two’s sail around from Port Nationale would land them at Nassau, where the _true pirates_ lived. Eliza and Jerimiah lived about half-way between the two, more inland, and so Kara remembered the long day of trekking to her new home after her mother had died. From near the coast to a small cottage farm inland, a day’s run from the ocean was further than Kara could have ever imagined herself to be.

Where she had grown up, where her fuzzy childhood memories were born, the ocean was always there. Even to the more caved and rocky lands of the island, she was never far from the water’s edge. She had never looked at a map, and why would she when the ocean was down and the stars were up, when she never thought herself needing to leave home, when everything she ever needed was in the caves, the trees, the land of her island. But then she had to leave, and her family had been alone for months – no visitors or secret friends of her father’s – and she had looked over her father’s shoulder as he sat frowning over a map one evening on deck of their small little brigantine and she saw it. She saw the pencilled lines of where they were to go and the pitifully drawn ‘x’ that marked where they had just left from: an island of decent size with odd headlands and bays that almost gave it the appearance of a... “cat island.”

“What?” Winn asked, spinning the map around so that he may see the island she spoke of, with her finger still pointed firmly to the haunches this cat sat on.

“My father had a friend... a secret friend, my mother called him. He would visit the island every few months with a chest or many cheap cotton bags. I stole an empty one once thinking that it held something inside, but... nothing. Anyway, my father introduced him to me once, after I had been caught with the empty bag, and said that this man’s name was Catt with two ‘t’s. Arthur Catt, and he said that my father and he were... business partners of sorts. I was too young to understand what any of it meant but from then on, whenever he visited the island, I would say hello and bring him a coconut to drink from.”

“Arthur Catt?” J’onzz interjected.

“Do you know him?” Kara asked.

“ _Of_ him. He worked with Edward Teach for a time.”

“Blackbeard?” Winn mumbled, but with an air of excitement in his voice, he may as well have been talking of a god.

“The very same.”

“Well, then, yes. This makes sense,” Kara said, that fluttering in her chest and her stomach the veritable flickering flame of a castaway’s beach bonfire, calling them closer. “If Catt was hiding the treasure, and my father was keeping it safe-“

“Then your father was a pirate?” Alex asked, not expecting an answer.

“What? I don’t know... maybe he was,” and a gentle silence fell over her as she tried to place the word ‘pirate’ next to a memory of her father, and how oddly they fit together. “Maybe he didn’t know he was a pirate, nor even helping one.”

“Yes,” Alex agreed with a nod of sarcasm. “I am sure that is it.”

“But this treasure?” J’onzz asked with urgency.

“I can still remember the trail I would take to meet them at the cave entrance.”

“You know this island, then?”

“Like the back of my hand,” and she couldn’t help but feel the burn of tears in her eyes. Here she had been thinking that the mystery island of their hopes and dreams was one of the many smaller ones dotted around Catt Island; but now, she was stood with the realisation that her home was not just hers but that of _the_ treasure as well!

“So,” Winn began, allowing Kara to feel but again, not letting time be wasted. “Cat as in, the island has the appearance of one, or because it was used as a base for Arthur Catt, collaborator with great pirate, Edward “Blackbeard” Teach.” No one answered, and Kara couldn’t because she was hardly sure either... and in her memories, she could also recall the occasional cat roaming loose across the beaches as well. She doubted that anyone would truly know why the island was referred to as ‘cat island’ for there were too many possible origins; or maybe that in itself was the reason why. “If it were to be because of Mr Catt, then how was Daxam to have known, or even Lord?”

“You see,” Kara said with a sniffle. “I was never sure as to why we left home so early in the morning, but I know that I saw a ship around the headland, and so I surmise that they knew of Catt’s dealings with both my father and Teach.”

“And I surmise that that ship was Daxam,” J’onzz finished and they shared a look and a nod. It was no surprise to either of them in that moment that what they had been chasing their entire lives, inadvertently or not, had in the universe’s intricate way, brought them together so that they may have a chance at thwarting it, once and for all; Kara with her desire to seek what was lost, and to find closure for her father and mother in her life, and J’onzz to seek simple revenge on the abominable ship Daxam. “I thank you, Kara Danvers,” and all quirked their heads at the use of both the woman’s names. “For I believe in my gut as much as you do that this is where we are to go; where the treasure is. I thank you for your memories and your father’s book, and now... Now, we are to set sail.”

With a hand to her back from her ever-protective sister, Kara nodded at her captain once again and stepped out with her father’s book in hand, to the sunlight streaming down upon her. It was warm and crisp, biting into her in such a comforting way – not unlike Lena’s teeth hours before – and then she was off. She left Alex in her wake as she dashed down to check the gunpowder stock for cannons, and returned to deck with a banana in her hand as she set to climb the rigging and begin the first watch for their long voyage.

~ ~ ~ ~

The oceans were calm enough for the first few leagues of their sail, but as the edge of Port National began to blur and waver on the horizon, the clouds began to grow angrier and darker with a roundness to their edges that always reminded Kara of fresh loaves of bread, or now even, the delectable naked curves of Lena’s body. The sun had vanished, and the skies were dark, and she knew that it had only been mere hours since she had left the brunette’s side, but yet she found her heart craving the woman’s touch, her lips on her scarred skin, and her smell filling her lungs.

She shook her head to try and focus, knowing that she would need to be looking out to the storm brewing before them for guidance on winds and how the ocean was fairing, but alas, her shake was too apathetic and all it managed to do was bring her hair loose from the lazy knot that it was in and its wispy strands tickled her neck. The skin below those tresses rose in a succession of awakened pores and even smaller hairs, not unlike it did the night before, days before, weeks before, whenever Lena graced her fingertips along Kara’s body in some way, innocently or otherwise. The breezes that picked up around her in that moment only seemed to deepen her in the trance that was Miss Lena Luthor and oh, how she felt entirely lost in it. As her eyes fluttered between closing and staring up to the heavens, strong bolts of sunshine breaking through flustered clouds, the stars that were to guide her begged their father for assistance, and a thunder clap shocked across the ocean in the wake of flickering lightning, breaking Kara from her daydreaming.

She smiled up at Hercules, wherever he may have been. There were more pressing things than imagining Lena’s hands and her lips, her body and the noises that begged to escape from it, that were needing her attention.

In following of Hercules’ request for attention from his father, Zeus, the other gods of the world, of the Caribbean oceans that were her home, Kara found that breeze picked up into a wind and then a blustering gale, and she shouted down from the crow’s nest for the cannons to be secured below deck – the wind foretold the ocean’s tempestuous behaviour that would send all loose or near-loose items to rattle around above and below deck – and for the sails to be watched on the masts.

For the majority of the day, the winds proved to be the most difficult, with the ocean holding off from its full glory until the sun had set and the clouds obstructed their views of Hercules. Thankfully, Winn was of the best quartermasters that J’onzz had ever had on his ship, and so the stars were only needed now in dire circumstances. Compass points on astrolabes were all that the crew needed on the bridge to keep their course steady, which had to – in these winds – be checked almost every minute on the minute, for the wind was proving to be as difficult as Kara had foreseen. The rains would soon join, and alike the other storms that she had sat through, high on the foremast with the wind in her hair and her hair in her face, she would keep her hand pressed to her breast, her father’s book tucked into its pocket only somewhat safe from the water that fell so viciously from the skies above. The only other thing that would keep it as dry as possible was Kara’s hope.

Of course, she could certainly keep it below deck, safely tucked in with her few belongings by her hammock, but after having it by her side, by her heart for so much of her life she felt that she would feel lost without it there to hold onto when times were tough, or her heart hurt. Even when she was a small child, new to an island and new to a family, she carried that book with her wherever her little feet would carry her, not wanting for even a second to forget her family, her home.

When the edges of the storm reached Deo and began to pass treacherously over them, Kara could do nothing more than sit and hold on. She loved the tempests that crashed against the ship’s bow, the spray flying up to reach her in a miasma with the unsalted rain, falling upon her skin and lips. She would close her eyes and breathe it in as much as she could, feeling the very edge of death creeping up on her. These were the sorts of storms that so oft claimed the lives of even the most experienced sailors, drowning them, sometimes while they were still on board with the far-reaching waves that filled the decks with water. Up high in her crow’s nest, she was less likely to drown, but with smooth-sailing not existing in those hours, there was nothing to stop her from being tossed out and down.

Many of the more ‘I-have-a-thing-to-prove’ members of the crew that would take a turn in the crow’s nest often challenged themselves and others to fairing a storm without holding on. A chance to show their manliness, Kara thought, as she held on just a little more tightly than was necessary. She was not going to chance an unexpected wave that cast her overboard, or at the very least into a state of panic at being knocked about so very high up. Her nails would dig into the wood of the mast and her feet would wedge to the sides of the barrel, and there she would stay until the eye, and then the far side of the storm had passed.

Her arms would groan as she relinquished her life-saving grip from the mast, the sides of her feet in her boots screaming as blood gushed back into them after the circulation was cut off with the hope and force to not move. While the storm had passed, the ocean still felt the aftershocks of such a terrible event, and would continue to toss them around for hours. Then would come the time where Kara regretted eating even that simple banana, and her stomach would turn as uneasy as the ocean they sat on. _Focus on your breath,_ she would hear Alex say, in an echo of her own mother’s voice; so many years on the ocean and yet she would still feel ill after not too long.

Thankfully, the calmer waters would soon ease her again, and back to somewhat-smooth-sailing Deo would return.

~ ~ ~ ~

In the quiet nights on the open seas, with the whistle of wind making its haunting way down to her ears as she lay in her bunk, Kara thought of Lena. Her arm bent under her head, much like it was when she awoke that too-long-ago morning, her eyes were cast intently to the inside of her eyelids, trying with every breath to relive the moments where it mixed hotly with the brunette’s in front of them. With each creak of the ships masts under the wind, she heard the aching of old floorboards beneath Lena’s bare feet as she led her to bed. With every sway of her hammock, her mind swayed under the headiness of what Lena’s voice did to her.

Memories of being beckoned closer, with soft words, careful touches and alluring looks through nervously hooded eyes. Lena’s exquisite fingers slowly untying the sash around her waist, allowing her robe to fall open, revealing her soft skin below. As she pressed her thighs together in her hammock, Kara’s breath caught in her throat and chest, just as it had that night when her eyes cast upon the distinct lack of a nightdress beneath the fine white silk. Her hands, quite at their own accord, had risen to take the edge of that robe between her fingers. Rough nail edges and callused skin caught on the material too delicate to have ever been touched by her, but it soon would not matter as those un-nervous fingertips made their way up to Lena’s chest, teasingly dragging their backs across chilled skin. The swells of the brunette’s breasts underneath, sent another shock through Kara, causing her to speed up somewhat impatiently to reach shoulders so that she may further push the robe off. A deep breath, shuddery with lips parted and she began to smooth it off as she felt Lena’s hands come to the buttons at the top of her tattered breeches. In that moment, without even looking down to those hands making quick work where she went slow, she felt so undeserving of the woman in front of her, the sweetness and almost purity of her skin, her clothes, even the sheets on her bed. She had never been privy to anything close to such perfection, and the thought of it all soon to touch her simply terrified her.

Lena’s hands dropped from her waist band and she felt the stiff material edge down her hips slightly, and in comparison, her undeserving and hardened fingers pushed the other woman’s robe finally over her shoulders, and watched as the light silk flowed to the floor to shimmer in the dull candlelight. In shadows of that light that danced across Lena’s skin, Kara’s nervous breath, so warm and teasing, left raised bumps dancing in response. She smiled to herself in her bunk as she remembered, biting her lip before leaning in, remembering Lena’s hands latching onto her waist, her arms, fingers pushing into her hair as Kara’s lips latched onto the soft flesh of a breast.

She bent at her knees as she pressed that breast up in her hand, those callused fingertips irritating before supple lips and a warm tongue soothed in its wake. Kara’s brow furrowed as she lay, her body pulsing in the prospects of no relief and at the next crash of a wave against the ship, her eyes shot open with heavy breaths and she thought that she ought to stop there. Memories of that night would survive her this voyage, but to make it worth her while she would have to make them last. She swung out of her hammock with solid boots to the floor to take herself above deck to clear her head from intoxicating thoughts.

To move out of the dream, the remembrance of what was no longer just a dream, was painful to say the least.

~ ~ ~ ~

The week on the sea was long, tiring, and a different kind of painful; the more literal and burning one for it did indeed burn so very harshly. When the storms and chaotic winds had passed, and the sun had reared its much-needed head, bringing warmth and dryness to the deck and the sodden sailors that slipped aboard it, a breath of relief was released by all. But soon, as that sun proved it’s burning glory, Kara began to feel the skin at her neck bubble and crisp, her hands grow red before brown, and even the skin under her thin clothing grow reddened and tired.

Of course, she had been burnt before many times over by the sun, but there was always something about the first sun after storms that was harsher, crueller, more stinging. Collars were turned up and sleeves were rolled down; all attempts to stay in the shade were necessary, but on occasion the winds would pick up, and often in a less-than-favourable direction, and so all the power of tired muscles was needed to keep Deo moving. Sweat poured from brows more than ever before, and soon sleeves were drenched in that in favour of the rain from days ago.

Surrounded by water, but none of it fresh or even cooling to the touch, tempers grew higher as the temperature did, but on the sixth day of the voyage, so bone-deeply aching and hungry for food, water, the treasure they sought, it appeared on the horizon. They had passed few islands in the past days, always with at least one of the crew wondering aloud if it were that which they sought, but never it was. An hour later they would sail on by the island, and its smaller size would vanish out of sight. But then...

Catt Island was bewildering. Its size lay in its immeasurable length, casting out along the horizon as they edged closer until it was all that they could see either side of them. Unassuming in its appearance, the majority of the coastline was simply beaches, with the odd cluster of rocks scattered along for gently lapping waves to creep up on. Kara remembered those rocks and the scars on her feet caused by clambering over them. She looked about the crew as they stood at the rail staring out and read their expressions: not entirely enthused nor impressed by the island at first appearance, but something deep in her stomach did not seem to care. She was home; after so many years, almost a decade, she was home. Her feet were to touch the burning sand, her hands to push through course palm fronds taking her further into the island’s heart until she found; until they found their treasure.

But for a moment before she thought of the treasure again, her heart said that it had already found its own by finding home, and she believed it.

They dropped anchor as near the shore as they could manage, not wanting to run Deo aground should they need to leave swiftly – as always seemed the case – and rowed in by the boat until those needed on land were there. The captain, first mate, Kara and a half-dozen others to assist in transportation, whilst the others remained on board and kept a look-out, kept prepared for when they were to set sail again. Until that time, most stayed under the shade granted by the raised sails, blocking them from the afternoon sun.

Ashore, Kara stood shoulder to shoulder with no one for a minute, taking in the land that she used to run on bare-foot, the trees that she used to climb for fruits to eat or views to savour, the air that was somehow still laced with the sound of her mother’s voice. She stood and imagined that her parents were standing there beside her, like they had always been doing so, waiting to welcome her home. “Welcome home, little one,” she whispered, and she felt a lump in her throat not about to be washed own by the tears in her eyes.

“Welcome home, little one,” and this time it was Alex’s voice with her hand on Kara’s shoulder, not shuddering from emotion just yet, for they had a job to do and they could not afford to lose time, not even for sentimentality. Kara turned to face her sister, a gentle smile with raised eyebrows to silently ask if she was alright, if she was ready to go on, and so she nodded. Alex patted her shoulder again and stepped back. J’onzz stepped forward in the same pace, coming to stand next to Kara.

“Show us the way,” he said, and it was an odd statement in how it was said, Kara thought, for it was almost as if he were telling himself to do so as well. She looked up into his eyes, and saw the trust of her father, and from that moment, she could see as clear as the fleck of lighter colour in the man’s deep eyes exactly where the treasure was.

Catt Island, no matter how long, still had incredible depth to it, and that depth was a maze of forest and untouched wilderness that only Kara could seem to understand – the memory of running through it all as known to her as the back of her hand – and so it was a long and gruelling time before they reached the caves where the young pirate remembered her father meeting Arthur Catt. Amidst the crew’s heavy breaths and the odd buzzing of flies, the rhythmic drip of water from deeper inside echoed to their ears in a pitch that called them in like a siren.

Hesitantly, they stepped in, over uneven rocks and growing plant life that was greener than most of the crew had ever seen. Kara had seen it though, and if asked, could name the species and how it functioned as a living organism. Her father had taught her as much when she was unable to climb trees all day due to the gashes on her feet or the bruises on her knees. And so, she would sit by her father’s desk while he scribbled out notes next to sketches of plants, animals, different rock formations and she would learn.

Now, however, she doubted that anyone would be too interested in the green mush that was sticking to their boots, and so she simple forged on. It was growing darker, and she soon had to duck her head into her shoulders as the ceiling of the caves started to lower; her heart began to race. She was close, and when the last glimmering of sunshine from outside flickered off the walls at a certain naturally-made shelf, she saw a lone pebble, covered in moss. She stopped and reached over to it, grabbing it and then wiping her thumb over it, revealing it to be a stark black stone. She smiled and turned to the group of wide-eyed pirates following her.

“It is here.”

They continued to stare at her blankly, and so instead of telling them of her joy, or rather why she felt such joy, Kara looked down upon where her heart had told her to search, where her memories had taken her by the guiding of her father’s ghost. She heard J’onzz grumble, seeing only a cave and its lack of glistening treasure, giving in and feeling as if the battle were lost. She knelt down to the moss-covered pebbles and saw it. She saw the treasure and none of it glistened in her eye, but she knew. She knew the shape of a coin and the shape of a pebble, and these... “These,” she said, pulling back on J’onzz’s wayward arms of frustration so that he may take a closer look. “These are not pebbles, nor stones, nor anything but what we came for.”

At his look of confusion but with an ounce of trust there, she knelt down to pick up one of those deceptive coins and wipe her thumb forcefully over it, just as she had with the black stone, removing the moss and revealing the gold shimmering of a Spanish dollar instead. She felt J’onzz fall to his knees by her side and thrust his hand deep into the pile, pulling back a handful and sifting through each to see that they were coins as well; Spanish, English, an Italian and at the bottom, something heavier. He dropped the cleaner coins in his lap and wiped this last item as well: a ruby, and despite the consumed glow in his eyes, Kara knew that that ruby would eventually sit in a perfectly sculpted pendant around Lena’s neck. She would make it so.

“My father loved botany,” she whispered, slowly taking the ruby from J’onzz’s open palm as he showed it to her. “He would have known how quickly the earth would claim the treasure.”

“A week?”

“Even less,” she said, and recalled in her young mind how close that ship on the horizon had been when they first set sail to leave it. “And he knew that I would find it again.”

And so she had.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo what did we think?? A bit less Lena for a while, but I hope impending treasure and Kara's wayward thoughts are enough to keep you going!!
> 
> Also, totally shameless ask, but if any of y'all stumble onto a link for Disobedience, hook a girl up because I am a slut for the Rachels <3 much love xoxo


	16. CHAPTER SIXTEEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unrelated, but Happy Star Wars day to any of you nerds who love Star Wars like me. May the Fourth be with you :P Now, go and read!!!

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

 

The sun was what brought the blood in her veins to grow warm, her cheeks pink and her starry eyes to flutter open for the first time. Zor-El was a name that was long running dry; no child born to a match in many years save one. This one, young Kara to her mother and father on a lonely ship off the shore of a lonely island where they were to find a life. In the quiet hours of night and day, her mother’s anguished screams had filled the lonesome deck until early one morn, under the last glow of the moon, a perfect little child appeared. She was calm and serene, but upon the opening of her crystalline eyes, her father remarked that those were the eyes who had done this before; who had weathered the world before and all of its chaos and through pain and past lives, she was now born again in peace and power.

At the rising of the sun, her hair caught on fire as the life in her eyes did, and rumbles of thunder had been heard in the distance; from her first breath, Kara had been welcomed by the gods, watched over by the gods, guided by them and fuelled with their strength. Her golden hair, her warm skin, her beating heart and searing blood, all impassioned by the sun, but also the fine moon-glistened strands of white hair through gold, the freckles on her growing skin that mirrored the night sky above, the twinkle in her eyes; Kara Zor-El was gold and silver, rubies and sapphires, earth and water. She was everything and all contained in the body of a growing human who was a survivor before she ever knew that she needed to be.

Under the billowy white clouds, the breaks of waves were the only obstacles she ever needed to kick her knees up high enough to overcome; any cut from a rock, a tree, a not-blunt-enough machete simply a marking on the pages of her life story that she embraced and grew to love. “You must love yourself, Kara,” she would hear her mother say as she wiped at her tears with the bud of her thumb. The young child would cry at the lack of friends like the ones she would read of, she would weep at the words too large to yet fit around her tongue, anger herself over the burn in her chest when reading stories of love and adventure, and all she had was the stray cats that followed her dampened footsteps in the sand back to their tiny wooden-shack home.

In her little heart and little mind, she craved for something more than what she had. Her father told her she was safe and that was what mattered, her mother told her that she had her loving parents and that was what mattered, and while Kara believed them with all of her heart, her soul was still tearing itself away to a place she’d never been, to a pair of eyes so familiar yet she’d never seen. As sure as Hercules above her every night, she knew that the long island of cats was not all that she was ever meant to experience.

Her childhood was all that she could imagine she would’ve hoped for however, and in that she could not find fault. Her father was smart and would teach her of the land that they grew crops in, the moss that would find company with those crops and the plants that were offered to them already that they may survive off. Her mother taught her of writing and reading and mending holes in her shirts and holes in her skin. She learnt everything she would ever have needed to know to take care of herself, of which she never thought she would have to do, but then ultimately did. She learnt everything she needed to for her heart to keep beating, her stomach to be fed and her brain to keep working. But she did not learn how to be alone.

When the first other person came to the island, her father had been happy, expectant and welcoming. This man with a beard more tatty than Kara’s mother would ever allow her own hair to be, and more cuts on his face than Kara could count on her entire person was interesting, to say the least. He was polite and sincere, with arms browned by the days and eyes wearied by the nights. He seemed to present no threat nor worry for either Kara’s mother or father, and yet in the pit of her stomach a knot grew quite of its own will and no amount of coconut water could seem to flush it out or drown it. He would return every month or so in that year, and every time Kara’s knot grew tighter and more difficult to dismiss. Finally, as she was twelve and had told herself that she was practically adult, she followed the path of trees to the caves that her father had kindly forbade her from – he had simply stated that it held private items that were not to worry about nor investigate. She would believe him, but when he took this other person, this Mr Catt there, something drove her legs to scurry after them and spy as best she could.

She made not a sound nor a breath to rustle even a blade of grass, and yet her father appeared before her, hearing her in his heart before his ears that she was just too inquisitive to ever leave it be. He took the empty cotton bag from between her callused fingertips and nodded for her to return to her mother’s side. If only, she had always hoped, that he hadn’t said for her to do so. If only he hadn’t made his privacies more secret than they needed to be. If only, if only, if only, she wished and muttered until he returned to their shack without Mr Catt who was now back aboard his small boat to the ship that awaited him out to sea. Her father again seemed to hear her in his heart before his ears, but it was too late.

Soon, the man stopped coming and her father’s eyes were downcast more of the time. He did not teach her of plants as much anymore, but of how to sharpen a machete and swing it. She heard her father mutter to her mother one evening when she could not sleep of the other man and how he was dead. Kara’s young mind plucked from the air that it was a disease like the ones that culled their crops one year, but with her arms burning from how she swung the machete with enough force to lodge deep into the drunk of a palm tree, she had a feeling it was not so simple.

Her view of the island began to change, with the scowl of her brow coming to rest atop the image of the world her eyes saw. She was worried, and despite the never-faulting honesty of her mother’s smile, she found the knot in her stomach too uncomfortable to ignore. It no longer faded with the absence of Mr Catt; now instead only growing thicker and more weighty with every day he remained mysteriously dead. She could find comfort in her mother’s smile, her father’s words, but she could not trust them as blindly anymore.

One summer morn, as the sun rose and blinded Hercules from the sky, the horizon was not bare and Kara’s eyes fluttered open to the hurried and worried shaking of her shoulders beneath her blanket. She found that the knot in her stomach had vanished, and been replaced with one around her entire being. She could not breathe properly, nor affix her eyes to her whittled toys long enough to remember them or the names she had given them. Her struggling lungs caught in her throat the air they needed as her bare feet stumbled aboard the creaking ship that she had been born on yet never stepped foot on before.

She rubbed at her tired eyes and found her father gone when she could see again, no wispy sleep in her eyes or worried tears to blind her. When he returned, he was clutching one of those empty cotton sacks to his somach. Kara would’ve asked why he would bring an empty one, but she was sent to climb as well as she did the trees that lined their island to the top of the masts and tighten every rope she could reach. Pointed peaks lurked in the distance, like the trees of some winter’s tale novel from her bookshelf, edging closer until the island stopped their advance and the wind carried the Zor-Els away.

The burn of her body, too many different kinds to choose from, was the thing that might kill her or drive her mad – and she grew angry at her parents for the thoughts. She was not yet thirteen and she was fearing death and insanity. Her eyes screamed tears until they could no longer, her skin ached for moisture until numbness took over, and her palms cried blood every time the wind took the rope from her grasp. She felt pain in a way that no book had ever written of before, and it was a cold and stormy night that she found refuge in when she could not find the energy to stand. She curled under a blanket – not as soft as the one left on her island – and slept until her body began to ache again. Her ears opened to her mother’s weeping, and after searching the ship for her father, recognised that the tears were of loss and fear: fear of being a lonely woman aboard a ship now with only her daughter.

Land arrived slowly enough, and Kara stared at the ship once they left it until she felt that it might catch on fire from her gaze. Her mother tugged at her arm, and her bare feet screamed as did she for the first time in forever. She loved her mother, and needed her as much as she herself was needed, but that knot that was once in her stomach, that had turned into a rope around her throat so that she mayn’t breathe had been ripped off of her now, leaving open wounds and scars. She did not know why they had left the island, why Mr Catt had died, where her father had gone, and how long she had even slept for on that stormy night, but she knew now that she was a survivor and did not like it at all.

As she grew in the next months, taller, wiser, more forgiving of something her scars told her to never forget, her skin healed over and she made a friend with eyes similar to those of the stars and her dreams. When the tears had stopped, finally, she saw that those eyes were the ones that had kept her soul alive for so long. The little girl who was shorter yet older than her would hold out her hand so that they may walk home together from the little school that they learnt at. Kara knew it all, of course, for her father had been her teacher, but she learnt nonetheless. She learnt about Alex and this new island that had fewer stray cats, but more stray people – pirates, her new friend said they were, and that she should be careful of them.

Little Alex had said it with a smile, and Kara saw that she was being warned of these pirates just as she would in turn warn Alex of towering palm trees and how she should not climb them. _We are told that we should fear them, but we know them, and can beat them, and so we do not fear them._

They had been friends, the young girls, confiding in each other when it came to mischief and learning new skills of thievery and other minor criminal acts – merely things to survive and make the days interesting and apart from each other – but never would Kara want to talk of her life before this new one; before they reached this island, and before Alex. She would run away sometimes to the ocean, away from her mother’s calls for her to return, and faster than even Alex’s legs could carry. She would run to the water, and often into it until she could go no more, her tiny lungs not managing to keep her alive as she buckled over tired legs as she sobbed and screamed for her father... at her father.

She was angered and lonely, and a few years later after storms and poorer times, when her mother died of a fever in her head – but Kara told herself it was a broken heart – she would dive under the night time waves and scream there as well, for her growing lungs only grew more burning under her voice and how it cracked far too often under the weight of her emptiness. She felt pain in her body, once so tiny and now taller, stronger, but still empty. Her legs still burned after running down the hills from the Danvers’ little house to the ocean, through trees and over craggy rocks to the warm waves that washed the blood from her skin; her legs were tired, but still carried her through their aching, growing stronger every time she escaped. Her hands bled as well, as she picked herself up each time she tripped over rocks, and then later when she gripped the doorframe of their house, her house, to stop herself from running. Her eyes burned, her jaw clenched, her lungs were on fire each time she felt anger at her mother and father for dying, for making her leave her home in the first place, and of course, at those ships on the horizon for appearing before edging closer to them.

Whatever they had hidden in those cotton sacks in the caves of Catt Island, she had never thought any of it worth feeling pain over, and yet now of course she did.

She was fourteen one day suddenly, and had more anger and resentment in her young body than many of the pirates she and Alex looked up to. And then Alex left her as well. Her sister promised that she was not leaving her forever, and would see her as often as she could, but on the night that Alex left on the ship called Deo, Kara’s longer legs, now so foreign to the trees and craggy rocks that led to the sea, stumbled under her weight and pained sobbing. She was alone, again. If she had had a machete in her hands in that moment, as the waves touched at her feet in the most soothing embrace it could offer, she would have removed herself from her life as well. She could not feel alone if she could not feel.

But then she came back to her house one afternoon, after she had helped the old couple down the lane in their garden. She carried vegetables in her arms, intent with a rare smile to make the most nourishing dinner she would have for herself and her adoptive parents in a long while. She returned to see a sea-worn figure by her door, kicking at the dirt nervously. She frowned and tilted her head as she approached, but when Alex nervously crossed her legs where she stood, the vegetables in the blonde’s arms all but fell to the ground as she ran to her sister. She flung her arms around Alex’s neck and sobbed like she had when the elder had left, breathing in her sister’s smell, now laced with the salt in her hair and warm rum on her breath.

“I told you that I would come back, little one,” and Kara laughed, wondering why she had ever doubted her.

“Take me back with you,” she asked the next morning when Alex was to leave, and she would ask every time the other girl returned before leaving until she was fifteen, when she had learnt all that she could in their small little town on the hill. She had few belongings to take with her to sea – nothing more than a small bag to throw over her shoulder – but nothing more important than the book from her father.

He had given it to her in good faith, perhaps knowing that he would not reach the new land they were sailing for, and now that good faith guided her and offered another voice in her head when she was sickened by her own. She had that book and a few shells, a shirt that Eliza made her and a small brown rag that Jeremiah used to press into her palm when she used to blister while tending to their small farm. Now it was to always stay with her to soothe pain or wounds just as her real father’s book would soothe worries or heartache.

Her first weeks on Deo were long, much longer, it seemed, than a whole year to her now. She had barely kept food down and found that water was all that she needed for longer periods of time. When the sea was flat and breathless, Alex would convince her to keep down a piece of fruit, maybe some fish that they caught, but most of the time it was water; and what was water to a pirate but the dullness behind the taste of rum. Even now, when Kara would take a sip of the warm liquid many years into her life as a pirate, she would remember her first weeks.

The first night she truly slept was a stormy one, and the crew was perplexed at how she managed it; Alex had muttered that it was because she was born under Hercules, after all. In reality, it was simply because her young body was worn down so much from exhaustion – of throwing up, of burning muscles she scarcely knew she had, of usually finding the boat too troublesome to actually sleep on – that her eyes could stay open no longer, much like that night when her father disappeared. When she awoke, she felt as if the sleep had been a rite of passage.

She had suffered the hardest times of being a pirate, and as awaking from that sleep, she awoke a new person, a capable one who could fair the pirate’s life.

Often, she and Alex would return to the Danvers’ home on the hill, where they now owned a farm that slowly grew until it was one that sustained most of the town. They would only stay for a night, sometimes barely an afternoon, but there was always laughter and love, and Kara would remind herself that she was a part of this new family just as much as her old one. In some ways, the Danvers knew who Kara truly was because neither her mother nor father saw her become the young woman she was, or the pirate she was. They only ever knew her as a curious child who smiled at even the smallest of crabs. Kara still did, but she also frowned a lot of the time now. Her parents had never seen that.

They had never seen how angry Kara could get, and how cool she could look on the outside, since growing older and more comfortable in her solitude to remind herself not to be selfish. To lash out and release her anger was selfish, she told herself. Since the last time she ran to the ocean so many years before, late-teenager Kara had not ever been selfish in her anger. She would savour it, and save it; for a duel, an adventure, even for when she needed that extra bit of adrenaline-fuelled strength to pull on the rigging.

She was now a person for others, looking out for Alex and her heart, before she ever worried of her own. She felt braver in it somehow, comfortable in the ability to save others even if she could not save herself.

And then she saw her.

She did not know who _her_ was, nor if she was anyone to be special in her life, but she had dark wispy hair that fell around sun-kissed shoulders as she offered the flustered pirate the juice of a pineapple, her bright smile reaching her glimmering brown eyes. Alex had taken the fruit from her hands while Kara stood staring, and then she was gone as quickly as she had stepped into view, leaving Kara breathless and wondering. Next, it had been the sweet girl at a brothel a few islands away from Port Nationale, with a bare chest that Kara felt embarrassed to have been staring at. She had apologised, but been reminded that it was a brothel, of course, and so she had drunkenly stumbled upstairs so that she may use her mouth for something other than apologising.

There were many other girls after them, most likely all the girls that Kara came across, and found her heart beating faster for each. A few young men made her feel floaty as well, but none so much as the women of her world. She and Alex would talk of girls when the night had fallen and only the waves lapping at Deo’s sides could be heard behind their whispers. Both women were attracted to their own gender in a way that no book had ever told them was appropriate, but Alex had justified that being a pirate was also considered inappropriate for such young ladies, and so they may as well do all that they wished.

There were always women, Kara made sure of, from that point onwards. She was on a ship that had so many men, docked at an island with so many men and women and yet she was always seeming to be destined of interaction with the men. She made an effort one day, and that turned into a week, a month, where she would by-pass the man that grinned at her, and strode up to a young lass instead. Soon, the men seemed to get the idea – or perhaps Kara simply stopped noticing them trying – and all that there was, was women. On the ship, at dock, at the tavern, always beside her in bed on mornings after tender nights.

The young woman who had perhaps been doomed to only know one woman, her mother, for the most of her life, now interacted with as many as she could each day in lieu of any man. Kara Zor-El Danvers was for women in every way that she could ever hope to be.

Yet, among all of those women, very few seemed to knock her off her scuffed-booted-feet. Some were forward, of course, and would barely introduce themselves before planting a kiss on Kara’s cheek, sitting on her lap, taking a sip from her rum, and she never minded, but she was still able to form a smile, a sentence, and introduce herself in return to the bold gesture. Then there was Cat.

She had known _of_ the mayor for almost as long as she had known that Deo docked at Port Nationale, and yet had only ever seen her from a distance. One afternoon, however, when they had arrived back from adventure and Kara’s shirt was slashed and splattered with another person’s blood, sweat dripping from her brow and fresh rum moistening her lips, the mayor stepped into the tavern and waltzed up to her, a coy and equally bold grin on her face as all of those other women had had before her. This time, Kara soon shockingly realised, was different.

Cat was cool and untouchable and even if she had pressed a kiss to Kara’s cheek, it would be as if her lips had not even touched her. She was so far away, yet near, and the young pirate blamed the rum for how her knees buckled when she shook hands with the mayor. She was thrown off her balance and out of her mind, immediately developing a crush on the older woman for no other reason than she made her feel some way she had never felt before.

And so – amongst those of Deo, at least – it became known that Kara had affections for the mayor Cat Grant. “An honourable endeavour,” Winn had mused once, for he was sorely terrified of the woman and therefore found Kara to be a special sort of brave. “Insane, but honourable.” She would visit the mayor’s office on behalf of the captain when need be, and behind closed doors, a simple friendship and respect blossomed. There were times when Kara wondered if she was simply imagining her attraction, but then Cat would advance on her, pushing up from her chair to stalk around her desk and stand in front of Kara, voice hushed and commanding, and the young blonde would feel lost all over again.

Time passed, and whilst that attraction was there and reared its devilish head more so when Cat looked at her burningly, Kara found more of a friend in the other woman than anything else. She was still nudged and winked at by her crew when returning from a visit that dragged on, but Kara knew that it was simply because they were chatting about some thing or another. She looked up to the mayor and found great wisdom in her words, even when she perhaps did not mean for there to be. She felt attraction, but her heart craved to simply be in the safety of Cat’s office at times, hearing her words to ease a hard time or the monotonous turning of pages amidst the silence of the building.

The outside world could see what they wanted, and Kara would go to the tavern or the brothel and sleep with whoever she wanted; that was how it was. There was nothing news-worthy or war-worthy in their little port of somewhat harmony, and it was liked that way. The loudest things in her life were the cannon fire far out at sea, or the constant buzz of chatter in her head the rest of the time. She may not have always enjoyed it, but it was the way of her life. Everyone knew everyone, and no one person was granted more words said about them or longing stares than anyone else.

But then the morning came when Cat told them that she was stepping down as mayor. A new person would take over, an outsider, and Kara had not met her yet, only longingly seen her that night in the tavern doorway. She felt perhaps a little angry at the change, and how nothing had changed for so long and now abruptly was, but all of those emotions, negative and warning, were forgotten the instance that Kara’s eyes fell upon Lena waiting to welcome her in the doorway of her office, hand extended to shake.

In that moment – that seemed to last an eternity – Kara was changed, and was suddenly, unexpectedly, nervously craving of that change.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up with all of your thoughtsss xoxoxo


	17. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I blame Disobedience for distracting me from my days!! This time it was less Friday and more "I found a link and am dowloading it while I sleep but will set an alarm every hour to check if it is finished." Honestly, I don't know why you stick with me, because I am so terrible at uploading new chapters of late!! But I am, as always, extremely glad that you do. Enjoy!!

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

 

Selfish. It was a word that Kara ne’er wanted to have associated with her person; always offering and being at the beck-and-call of her captain. She was a good worker, a good friend, and despite her pirate status, when she wasn’t otherwise needing to be gruff and cunning, she was a good person. A long time ago she had torn that part of her out to place only in the solidarity of her pocket – the closest it should ever be again to being part of her – and repressed whatever desire she ever had to embrace it again. She would not be selfish. She would not cry over her parents, wanting them to return. She would not cry after Alex, even when she was feeling so alone that all she may have wanted was a hug.

She would not do a thing for herself unless it was also for another. An equal partnership, she thought it to be, in everything she did. She wanted to be on the crew of Deo, but it was also wanted of her to be a part, and so it was not selfish. She wanted to know of Alex’s love life, and the trials and tribulations of it, but Alex was also wanting of her to know, and so it was not selfish. She wanted Lena with every fibre of her being, and cursed the gods for only ever bestowing upon her two hands, for they were never enough to touch, caress, tease every inch of Lena’s skin, but Lena wanted her too, and her roaming hands, and so it was not selfish.

Since she had last run to the ocean’s edge in search of a weary throat from screaming as a young teenager, she had not been selfish. She had been a part of two, or more, in every act or decision that was made. She may have had ulterior motives, other designs on the situation at hand, but those were always weaved neatly into the task so that it was never just for her own bidding.

~ ~ ~ ~

The island was wide and worrisome, never as secluded as the bay of Port Nationale so that they may see approaching troubles, and so while Kara knelt in the rocks of the cave, ruby perched in her less-than-pure hands, her mind’s eye was scanning the craggy coastline of Catt Island, wondering when and where Daxam would appear from. It would have been so naïve of her to think that they were not less than a day behind Deo, and so whilst they all seemed perfectly enthralled enough to stay in that cave and marvel at what was literally at their fingertips, she hoped that in the backs of their minds, they, too, were aware enough to only intend on this being a short stop in their mission.

“Captain,” a man spoke from the back of their little shadowed group. “Is all of this... ours?” and the bewilderment in his voice made Kara’s heart thud in her chest – more than it already had been. She stared at the ruby in her hand, finding a glisten in it that seemed to return Lena’s gaze, and heard J’onzz at her side slowly shuffle forward, a step over crunching rocks and shells and coins, no doubt, to an even smaller cove of the cave. “Captain?” the man repeated.

“J’onn,” she said, without looking up, realising that she had spoken the man’s first name for the first time in her life. She looked up to see his reaction, but only found his hunched shoulders as he dragged out the corners of a chest from the dark. “Captain J’onzz,” she corrected and clarified.

“Kara,” he said, his voice echoing off the edges of the cave to reach her ears. “Come see.” She stepped forward, under her bent legs, using her fingertips to balance herself as she moved, the ruby pressed between two firmly against her palm. She edged closer to J’onzz’s side as he continued to stare at the chest in front of them, now the dull gleam of a gold plate catching her eye as well. When the man at her side was seemingly sure that she was looking at where he was as well, he reached forward and wiped his hand across the plate, making it clean and legible.

“What does it say?” Alex asked in a whisper, not sure if her eyes were reading what she thought they were.

Kara was silent to this, not believing what her eyes were telling her either. She could feel J’onzz look at her, and Alex as well, coming over to her side with a hand to her shoulder, but her eyes were entirely transfixed on the words – or rather, the _name_ – that was engraved on that golden plate instead. “Property of-“

“No,” Kara muttered, because these words and this name seemed to open up a new chapter of her life that she had not been expecting, and in a shocking twist, she perhaps should have. “It can’t be, it cannot be... for if it is, does that not mean that...” and her breath was cold and dry in her throat, her welling eyes snapping up to Alex at her side who nodded a sort of confirmation but also support.

“The property of the family of Zor-El,” J’onzz finally said, and the cave was silent, perhaps not knowing that this was Kara, that she was not simply a Danvers.

Her father, the simple scientist, who harboured treasure on his little island amongst his algae and rare animals, seemed to be in a deal, an agreement, an arrangement with the other people that came to their island. She was confused and overwhelmed by the idea that this honest man that she had grown up under the watch of, was hiding something so monumental right under her nose. This treasure that they found, these coins, and jewels and wonderous expenses, were not just to be theirs by the law of finding it, but because she was the only living Zor-El left to claim it.

This treasure in a chest, amongst rocks in a cave, was hers and hers alone. But she was not selfish.

“No,” she said, going to stand but feeling Alex’s hand at her shoulder to tug her down. She then remembered the low height of the cave above and nodded her thanks to her sister for saving her from a rather enthusiastic bump on the head. “No,” again and more focussed this time, simply shifting how she balanced on the balls of her feet so that she may look back out to those of the crew behind her. “This treasure is not only mine,” she clarified, although no one had protested it nor expected that it was anything but.

“But, Kara, love,” Alex said, confused. “You are the only Zor-El.”

“Yes,” Kara responded with a nod. “But if it is my treasure, and it is to be shared with my family, then...”

“But Kara...”

“ _You_ are my family Alex,” and it only then seemed to dawn on the older woman what her sister was getting at. “I do not care about bloodlines and family values. My bloodline is me, and my family values seemed to revolve an awful lot around lying. I care for my parents as I did when I was a child, but they are not my only family on this earth anymore.” She stopped to look through the slithers of sunlight creeping into the cave to illuminate the silhouettes of the crew, the sweat on J’onzz’s brow beside her glistening. “You are all my family. I found you when I was lost,” looking into Alex’s eyes. “And you have all saved me a hundred times over. You are my family on this ship, at Port Nationale, in my heart. And so, whether it was to belong to whomever found it, or the person it really belonged to, either way that is me, and I choose to share it with all of you; to give it to all of you. My family.”

J’onzz placed a hand silently to Kara’s shoulder as she rambled lovingly, the only sound he made a sniffle. She smiled at him and felt a tear creep out of her eye to run down her cheek. “Enough of that,” he said, wiping the back of his hand under his nose, and then pressing the heel of his hand to each eye. “We must get all of this to the ship,” and Alex smacked her hands together and rubbed them briskly, indeed happy with this advancement of the plan.

It was gruelling work, with a total of three chests in the cave, filled to the rim, and then many a weighty cotton sack scattered throughout. Two people were assigned to a chest each, but as the caves were far from shore, and the boat could only carry a chest and a few bags at a time, the task seemed as if it would take near a few hours. Blisters were forming, boats transporting their load back to Deo almost tipped more times than Kara’s already nervous heart could bear, but upon returning to the cave one last time, Alex was there arms full of the last of the cotton sacks, grinning down to the precious gems within that glittered and reflected in her eyes. She hadn’t heard her younger sister approach, and so Kara took in the sight of Alex so joyous – greedily as it were, but full of joy nonetheless.

“You’re beautiful,” Kara whispered, but her soft voice bounced of the moist stone walls just the same to reach Alex’s ears clearly. “Maggie would be a fool not to love you,” and she didn’t know if it was the soft honesty of the blonde’s voice, or how tired her arms, her back, her legs were underneath her, but Alex smiled believing. Kara crossed over to her and relieved her arms of some of the weight, taking those glorious gems reflection into her eyes as well. She had never seen so many jewels, let alone so intense a colour as they all had. The bright blue of the ocean and the green of Lena’s eyes were perhaps the richest in colour she had ever seen, untainted by the draining of sunshine or the wearing of sea spray.

In her arms were now bright greens and reds, blues and white shimmering pearls and her dreaming mind wandered to a place in which they all sat perfectly on and around Lena as the brunette lay naked on the white of her sheets. She bit her lip at the image, so vibrant in her mind that she could hardly wait to return home to make it come into existence. Now, her bite deepened and told her, was not the time to be lost in such thoughts, for at any minute Daxam could arrive, should arrive, and – if their life long desire to have this treasure and ruin unsurmountable lives in the course to find it was as true as it appeared to be – would arrive.

Of course, an easy get away would be optimal, slipping back into the edge of the horizon and back to Port Nationale, but a part of Kara – so large a part – was practically begging Daxam to arrive so that she may end them all by herself. She did not drag her heels nor hesitate at any moment, but continued to wish their approach as she and Alex returned to Deo.

Looking over her shoulder as they piled the last of the treasure into the small boat, to see nothing but the land, emptily taunting her with memories of the tree that she carved her name into, the stretch of beach that she used to race her father down, the furthest rock from land that she used to perch herself on to daydream. Looking over her shoulder as they rowed steadily back to Deo, their balance needed as the first waves threatened to finally capsize them, to see the waves and she could feel the burn of her younger self wanting to scream at them for being the last thing she remembered of the island when they first left. Looking over her shoulder as arms reached down to pull her aboard, the boat now empty and its contents beginning to be stowed below, the distant rumble of the anchor being pulled up the only thing that distracted her from seeing far, almost to the ends of the island, her island, her once-home. She swung her legs over the rail and came down hard to the deck, looking out once more but feeling no point in the action anymore, and so her eyes did not focus on anything, any memory in particular, until they caught on something that brought a memory forth which she would rather forget, but now was daringly longing for.

The peaks of the sails of Daxam on the horizon, edging around the south tip of the island speedily in the hastened approach on Deo. She could hear the silence and then the chaos, Alex calling for the sails to be full and cannons to be at the ready should the wind behind Daxam prove too favourable for them, but then she heard J’onzz. “Halt!” She tore her eyes away from the peaks, much like she had been told to do when she was a child and had to climb the rigging. “We will not retreat.”

“It is not retreat, sir, if we have not yet engaged in battle,” Winn protested.

“We will not retreat,” J’onzz simply said, looking down through the rabble to lock eyes with Kara in what she assumed to mean, _this is it, this is where we end it_ , and she could not have been more ready. She was ready for blood and pain, and welcomed the pull of her skin under the point of a blade when it struck her arm as they clambered up and over the rails of Daxam’s starboard. J’onzz had guessed at a plan of attack, not wanting to wait for Daxam’s crew to reach their ship at all. Kara, with her repressed emotions and quick sword work led the small charge to sail a few small boats to the enemy. They climbed up, using daggers to pierce into the sides of the ship through wooden slats, pressing one smoothly into the chest of a Daxam crew when they each screamed aboard.

Kara looked not in the eyes of the men she was killing, leaving them bloody and stunned in her wake, simply tasked with ending them all. She did not make any death more flamboyant or worthy than the rest, only effectively plunging swords up through ribs, or daggers into the sides of skulls. Nothing looked at all like she had imagined it to be; these men were mostly older, at least twenty years older than her and not at all as skilled. She imagined years ago that they were all gruff and weathered by the world, as careless and selfish as she had taught herself not to be, and now she saw with her own eyes that they were the simplest form that her mind could conjure up and they hadn’t even the dignity to try and better themselves upon it. She imagined stereotypical pirates and got those that were so very below par.

She felt sorry for them for a moment, pausing to look above her head to the sails, yet upon seeing the flag and its detail, the lacking-certain-limbs skeleton upon a faded black flag, she remembered the scarring image of seeing that through the small spyglass her mother had handed to her so that she may keep watch all those years ago. She saw that flag, and unknowingly committed it hauntingly to memory. So, upon seeing it again above her head flying freely in the wind that usually tasted so sweet, she did not feel as sorry as she perhaps should have for the lifeless bodies that had fallen around her.

She boldly stepped over one, seeing a break in the warzone that had so quickly become Daxam, to the centred staircase to the bridge. The door to the captain’s cabin was closed and no one seemed to be guarding it or trying to prevent her from barging in at least, and so when she was close enough she raised her boot and kicked it in. It blustered open and almost rattled off its old hinges. Scanning her eyes carefully over the darkened interior, not from lack of light, but from uncleanliness, she grimaced at the uncaring state it was in. A captain’s cabin, and it looked like a temperamental child’s room.

A creak by the far corner, and she pivoted on her toes, pointing her sword out smoothly from her arms and saw at the tip of it sat – no, cowered – a young man who could have been no older than she. “Identify yourself,” she hissed, hoping with all her might that this boy might lead her to the captain she was so eager to run through.

“I am... am the captain of this ship,” the voice came, and she lowered her sword just a bit out of shock.

“You’re a boy,” she insisted, and he slowly stood up, still clinging to the walls as if it could somehow protect him.

“I am not a boy,” and she rolled her eyes.

“You are. And you are far too young to be captain of this ship.”

“My father was the captain before me,” his voice whimpered.

“And where is he while you make a mess of his cabin?” she asked.

“He died. At this very island, in fact. He died by the sword of a man – not even a pirate – as he escaped on his pitiful little boat with his family,” and Kara grinned. It was menacing, and she could now see that her father had more readily thrown himself overboard to drown before bleeding out in front of his daughter a murderer. “Why do you taunt me with that smile?” the boy asked, his fear still laced in his voice.

“My father killed your father,” and as the boy reached to his side for a sword perhaps hardly ever used, she stepped forward and plunged her own into his belly. “And now I shall kill you.”

“But I have never done a thing to you!”

“My father died as well, boy, and then my mother. I had my life stolen from me because of the arrogance of your father and his crew. I do not care if you did not ruin my life personally, but you are set afoot the ship that made a nightmare of my life, a villain out of my father, and a pirate out of me.” She jutted forward and slid him off the edge of her sword like fresh fruit from her dagger and watched as he stumbled backwards into the shadows that he had hidden himself in. “You see,” she began again, more calmly and with that grin returning so that her story may haunt him in his last moments. “When my father and mother died, when I was taken from my home and told that the new sand my feet touched was my home now, when I felt more alone in this world than even this lowly ship on the open seas, I was not selfish. I did not fight for me, kill for me, stay alive for me. I was for everyone else.”

He looked perplexed and worried at the same time, not even finding the energy in his quickly draining body to reach for his dagger and return the blow. His narrow face and unappealing facial hair, looking more like a dangerously infectious rash than any sort of distinctive characteristic, was enough to put a fault in Kara’s menace. Now she merely looked disgusted that she should have to make any sort of speech for this boy.

“I was never selfish for any reason in my life because I did not think I deserved it, but as you sit here, a _coward,_ bleeding out while at least your crew fought before they did, I shall tell you this, and it does not matter what I tell you because you will be dead before I leave this cabin. If I am only allowed one selfish moment in my life, whether you be the one who ruined my life or not, I will selfishly take the life of the captain of the ship that did. I will selfishly spill all of the blood from your bodies until it stains my skin for eternity. I will selfishly ruin _your_ lives but be gracious enough to allow you not to be haunted by it. In this moment, on this day, with my sword dripping with your blood,” and again she slid her blade in between his ribs, almost feeling the tip of it puncture the far side of his lung and the air hiss out, “I will be selfish.”

She stood with power in her legs and a fire in her stomach and as she did, she saw the life scream from his eyes, her sword retracting to slide back into its place at her hip. She stepped back from the shadows, into the light from the doorway, and as she made her way back outside – where it was distinctly less loud – she saw the first pools of that boy’s blood creep across the floorboards of the cabin. She should have felt guilty, or felt remorse in some form, but she felt nothing but gleefully selfish, and turned her back to it so that she may re-join her crew.

A nightmarish daydream of images carried her through reality as the light of day broke through and shone piercingly on the sword that glistened with that man’s blood. Her eyes twitched and blinked in rapid concession under the stinging hum in the bridge of her nose; whether the harsh and usual blinding sun was the culprit or the realisation of her actions, she did not know. All she could manage was to blink away the seconds that she was plagued in and move on. Stumbling, her feet caught around her own ankles and her hand reached out to grab at the outside wall of the dead man’s cabin.

On the next bothersome blink, she forced her eyes shut and fell into the pit of sound her head was brewing. The man’s groan of pain and loss-of-life, as well as the crashing waves, the intense sword-play, and the inevitable scream of her own inner voice above it all. Oh, how she wished to be drowned by the waves, of Lena’s kiss and presence, or simply to just have her lungs filled with water, her brain drowned in the lack of air. She could not, would not have it, and took herself to the dry and safe land of home instead; walking off the gang plank to the open sands that met the dock where Lena stood, the hem of her dress blending into the wisps of sand as she had waited for hours and become one with the land.

Her arms outstretched, fingertips dragging along the wood of the ship as she imagined them sparking at the touch of Lena’s skin, her arms, her shoulders, her neck, and the curve of her jawline that dipped behind her ears and beneath her hair. Kara would lean in and bury herself in that hair too, those weary arms wrapping around the woman’s waist as they each breathed the other in. A breath of home filling her lungs as the ocean air did in that moment, and Kara’s eyes shot open, her hand dropping slowly, teasingly to rest on the hilt of her sword.

Now was not the time to fall into the despair that such a selfishness would normally dictate after experiencing it; now was the time to fight. Fight, so that she may get back to that home soon.

There was still fighting going on, with yells of pain and rage echoing about the open deck as she looked upon it. She continued to cast her eyes about, seeing a few fallen of their own, but mainly those of Daxam too old to care, too selfish in themselves to fight for themselves. Out of the corner of her eye, in the corner of the deck near the rigging, with blackened powder flittered about him, sat a scrawny man with death dancing on his lips and tongue as his fingers fiddled to ignite a spark. Before Kara’s mind could connect what was happening, a burst of flame engulfed the rigging and that man along with it, beginning to lick at the old wood and edge across the deck.

“Abandon ship!” she called, dashing down to her crew, pulling some away from the middle of a duel and practically throwing them overboard herself. In a moment, fights dissipated on their own leaving crew from both ships scrambling about. Deo members were free and wise to dive into the sea as quickly as they could manage. They swam and rowed from the burning ship until they were plucked up to their own, the sails already at full mast, the wind carrying them to safety.

When she stepped aboard Deo again, she felt a changed woman; a tired one. The pulsing blood of her veins all these years to have craved a selfish moment like that she had just lived, was now calming to ease through her once more, as it had when she was a child; a child who she now felt so disconnected from. Of course, she had grown, but into an entirely different person from any that she had hoped to be or thought she’d be when she was that child. She had blood clinging to the wetness of her shirt, running down the fine, fraying stitching to drop down and hit the sodden weight of her boot. Now, in her exhaustion, her boots may well have been stone, keeping her feet weighted down, and her legs unmoving upon the deck as others ran their chaos to sail away from the soon-to-sink Daxam only a shout across the waves.

Rigging was clambered up and sails were full of wind and the voices of her crew, and when she looked up from the almost floating drops of sea water falling to her boots, she found the sun on her face obscured by Alex’s worrying eyes. “Little one? Kara, are you alright?”

“I want them to burn,” was all that her strangled voice could manage, dry and painful in her throat. Salt was in her eyes in the form of the ocean she needed to see through and the tears she now felt being ripped from the depths of her life’s pain, and she blinked to try and rid them of it. Alas, they only filled with more, and she only took a step forward under the grip of her sister’s hand around her forearm, sliding down to her hand and then letting go so that she may run off and be the first mate she had been born to be.

Kara staggered to and held herself up at the rail, spitting out salt water and frowning through the burn of it in her wounds. She saw Daxam in the most glory it would ever see: fiery and at its end. She breathed in the sight, deeply and grasping onto the last threads of that selfishness until she could feel her legs again well enough to stand without aid. J’onzz came to her side and whacked a firm hand to her back, although she had stopped coughing already, and seemed to be as enthralled by the impending and delightful doom of the Daxam ship as Kara was. She looked up to his eyes momentarily as she blinked the salt water away from her own, and saw the enemy’s fire in them.

A worthy yet deplorable enemy for the both of them that was now slowly vanquishing itself as it sunk; first one toppling mast amongst screams, and then the whole ship entirely as they left it on the horizon where it was first found, this time the complete opposite of a threat to them.

“We... We are not evil people,” J’onzz muttered unprompted, and Kara looked up to him again, standing more soundly on her sodden feet.

“Sir-“

“I know that we are pirates and that we have both killed many a people from many a land without a second thought nor definite reason in doing so, but,” and now he looked down to her. “These people stole from us; stole life and happiness from us.”

“They did, J’onn.” Her voice was low, and she heard his pain in the soft singularity of his breath, let alone the amount that was drowning in his voice.

“So, answer me this: why do I feel empty now, after having rid my existence of them? I should feel overjoyed, no? As should you?” She nodded, and took a deep breath, seeing a pirate before her, yes, but also a man who was raised with good values and a heart larger than it really ought to be for his line of work. She could not think of an answer to quell his guilt, to assuage it or tell him that there was no reason in it, because all would be lies. She could not answer for his feelings because no matter how he was telling her of them now, they were not hers and so she could hardly know them nor act on their behalf. She decided that she must answer for and from herself, hoping that her lack of emptiness could pass to him as a substitute.

Kara turned to J’onzz and said to his eyes and his heart that was in them, “Daxam can be lost at sea, for they stole _my_ life from me. They killed my father and made my home a lost and distant nightmare. My mother died not long after and then I was alone. I have Alex, and you and – forgive me,” she swallowed and pushed through as she tried to hold back tears. “I have Lena,” and J’onzz’s eyes widened, but not in anger. “But I do not have my parents. Their lives were taken from me, and so I suggest,” she said turning to look back at the last of the burning wreck of Daxam on the calm waters. “That we take their lives in return. This is all that I can offer, because, as excuses go,” she muttered to his side, “this is all that I have.”

She was not afraid to be dark in that moment; to hold evil and anger in her heart. She had seen in the stars every night of her life, her father’s eyes and her mother’s smile, and would give anything to have them back and see another burn; to see those to blame burn. So, she stood stoic, and J’onzz gave the order. Their sails full and the wind favourable to the course, they continued to sail away. She could feel her captain’s hand on her shoulder and a soft apology, but it was all she could do at that moment to not scream at the burning sails in the distance. She strode slowly to the side of the bridge so that she may reach the rail and peer out at them as they sailed further away. She knew it was impossible, but she imagined in her mind’s eyes that the captain of Daxam looked across the sea and saw her eyes, filled with tears and anger, and with the last breath of his body in him, knew that this was the end for him. She hoped that his eyes were the portal to the soul of his own father who had ruined her life, destroyed her life, and while she was sure that she was not the only child’s life to have been destroyed by that man, she was sure that she would be the one to end his reign, and the reign of his equally pathetic son.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts??? Questions?? Queries?? (Thoughts on Disobedience if you've seen it?? I died btw) xo


	18. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg guys, this is it. I mean, it's not 'IT' because there's still an epilogue, but this is it!! The last chapter... wow. I'm so excited for you to see it, read it, be transported by it, and I am so, so, SO unbelievably thankful to each and every one of you that has read, liked, and commented. It genuinely means the world to me. Now, go and enjoy, and know that I love you xoxo

Her senses were burning in impatience as Deo edged ever-too-slowly closer to Port Nationale. Kara smiled callously at the treasure as she passed it below deck or when she was on duty to guard it. It was perhaps the weight of five of their men and, while it was not at all, Kara blamed it as the reason for why their journey home was taking so long. The truth simply was that the oceans were painfully calm, and the winds had died down to a casual breeze, meaning that Deo’s voyage home would take a few more days than expected. She grumbled and kicked at the chests and bags, hearing the coins and jewels rattle and shift around under the action, and she would smile again. She was rich.

She was free.

Free enough to take her riches and run away with Lena, if only it be to her bedroom, should J’onzz not accept their love. She had mentioned Lena in an emotional moment and now regarded that move to be an aftermath of her previous selfish behaviour. Now, she regretted it. Now, she worried about it with sweaty palms and hot breath in her throat as she sat in the shade on deck and saw J’onzz and Alex talking on the bridge, their wandering eyes casting over to her every now and then. It was enough to bother and send her retreating below deck to her hammock where the only eyes upon her were her own; casting down her body as she rocked to a fro, fingers wrapping up in each other and worrying, until she threw them apart to either sides of her hips, ending their nervous conversation.

Through her brain’s muttering, she’d fall asleep and rest, and then awaken an hour or so later. The rest would quieten her mind and ease her worry, her senses cooling, but as soon as her skin was greeted by the still-high sun, and she would catch the captain and first mate almost gossiping again, her body would seem to slip into being overwhelmed again. She stepped up to the bow and looked out to the open ocean, her eyes wanting to close and reopen, seeing Port Nationale ahead of them; her lungs filling with Lena, her arms reaching out to Lena, her mouth craving Lena. Oh, how she was simply and frustratingly craving Lena.

Slumping down the rail to the little cove that was made by an old and torn sail tucked into the point of the bow, she knew that the sun would make her skin angry, but it was all she could muster herself to comfortably do lest she go mad puttering around the deck doing mindless tasks. Kara had awoken not too long ago, but her mind was tired already; enough so to nestle herself into the salt scorched sail and close her eyes, the sound of the bow cutting through crashing waves as they steadily moved along.

Her days were filled with sleep and rigging, rigging and sleep, with the occasional burn of rope through her hands as a season storm rode over them. Days passed, almost a week, and her nap was finally interrupted in her nook at the bow – which she shared with Vasquez or her sister on occasion – by the calling from above in the crow’s nest of land. Land was in sight, and as they edged closer, her eyes peering over the rail, the distinctive coastline of Port Nationale carved a smile onto Kara’s tired face.

She was finally home.

~ ~ ~ ~

The port was still a decent time of sail away, but Kara felt as if she could reach out and touch it. Never, _never_ had she been so eager to return home. In her mind’s eye she could barely focus on the usually craved-for warm sand as her legs carried her across it, dodging the people of her town and the corners of alleyways to lead her to Lena’s door. She wanted so much for the brunette’s glistening eyes to be the first thing that she saw upon stepping off the gangplank, but to take the woman in her arms so boldly and passionately in front of... well, everyone, was to be inviting questions and scorned looks.

Part of her so very much wanted to be that bold, however; to invite those stares and awaiting gossip, for she was simply a woman in love with another, who had proven herself more than her name and better than any mayor before her – even Cat. There was no logical reason for shame to be thrown their way from the people or from their own selves, and yet Kara knew that to be discreet in her and Lena’s blossoming relationship was the wise move to make. Whilst she was high enough in her affections to want everyone to know, no one needed to know and so, she remained grounded.

She remained grounded and rested her chin on the rail of the bow as she hung her arms over the edge, letting her fingers catch and dance with the sprays of the ocean. She breathed it in, as she had been all day, but finally it smelt like coming home. Somehow, Port Nationale’s ocean smelt different to the rest of the world’s to her. It smelt like home. It smelt like the first time she had returned to it, and the rum that laced her breath, the only thing she had been able to keep down. It smelt like the blood on her shirt from the first battle-on-the-sea that she had returned victorious from. It smelt like Alex and her arms around her after they had been at sea for her birthday. It smelt like all the memories she had accumulated over the years, and now... Now it smelt like Lena too, and how much Kara longed to be with her once more.

Her mind had been quiet, but busy and she had not heard the heavy boots of her captain stepping up beside her as she gazed lovingly to sea. His hand to her shoulder as he bent down to copy her stance and lounge across the rail was what alarmed her to his presence. “Sorry,” he said, although there was a slight laugh present at how Kara had startled. “What are you thinking about?”

“Home,” she said, and it was true, only in that instance, she was thinking of the mayor’s lips. She bit hers as she breathed in the image and released it as she breathed out, then turned her head to J’onzz. “What are you thinking about?”

He did not answer, only straightened up slowly, methodically, and she followed suit. As he went to speak, having opened his mouth around a word, and is brows furrow into what was surely to predict the serious matter of conversation, a wave broke against the bow and sprayed up and onto them. The ship swayed, and he quickly turned to head back to the deck, beckoning her as he went. Kara followed, her heart building up a steadily faster rhythm until they reached the bridge a minute later. It was the longest minute of her day, and she huffed unappreciatively when J’onzz continued to not speak even once they were in a drier, calmer position on Deo.

“Apologies,” he mocked, and she smiled in hers as well. “That ruby from the cave...”

“Which one?” Kara joked, recalling in her mind the several cotton sacks simply filled with rubies and other jewels.

“The first one you found.”

She reached into her pocket and found its rough edge, ran her fingertips across it before pulling it out. “This one,” and the man nodded at her. She held it out in her open palm, expecting him to take it and toss it in with the others, or something simple of the kind, but instead he confusingly used his hand to close Kara’s around the jewel and squeezed tight. “I do not understand, sir? Is each of the crew granted one stone for personal jewellery creation?”

“Only those intending for those jewels to be given to the woman they love.”

Her eyes widened and her breath shortened; she could see Alex in her mind over the past days talking to the captain and now was sure that they had been talking of Lena. She opened her mouth to sputter out some excuse that she and Lena were simply friends, that whatever Alex had said was foolish and only a rouse to get Kara in trouble, but the longer she attempted to babble, the longer she stared up into J’onzz’s eyes and saw the caring man who returned her stare. She stopped trying to talk. She closed her mouth. Her eyes returned to their normal size and expression, and she waited for him to continue before she did.

“Now that I look back on your behaviour, Alex’s words were hardly to be a surprise, and yet they were. Here I was, so caught up in the mystery and pirate’s life, that I hardly noticed that my little messenger was falling in love.” She knew she blushed; she hated herself for it, but smiled just a touch. “Alex spoke with me, telling me of this development because I had noticed that you were someplace else; dreaming of someplace else, and Kara,” he said, pausing so that he may catch her nervously wandering eyes. “I see Miss Luthor’s last name only now in connection to this town, and what she has done for it.”

“And what has she done for it?” Kara asked hesitantly.

J’onzz smiled and raised his hand, carefully bringing it to cup Kara’s cheek as he spoke. “She has loved it.”

Left in a slight haze, Kara wandered to the rail after J’onzz had smiled and let her go. She passed Alex with a mischievous grin – one eagerly and amusingly returned to her – and edged up to that spot on the rail, the port side, finding the grooves with her fingers while her eyes latched onto the ever-approaching coastline. She scoffed a laugh at herself as she stood transfixed on where they were sailing to, having always expected her pirate’s life to be battle after battle, with blood shed and more rum drunk that she could have ever imagined. And while all of that had rather eloquently come into fruition, she also found the dreams of romance and true love like the ones that were in the novels she read as a child were still there, and had equally come to life.

She stood, with dried blood on her sword, and scars pulling under the burning sunshine, but had her heart swelling and her pocket weighted ever so by the ruby that sat in it; a gift for the woman she loved. She smiled over the waves as they edged around the cove and into port, seeing the few children that always danced around in excitement of their pirate idols returning with tales of their adventures. Wives and lovers were there as well, and in the distance under the shade, Kara could see Maggie. She had of course hoped to see the shadowy haunting of the mayor, but to see Maggie there with what looked like flowers in her arms filled her heart with almost just as much joy as well.

She shot her gaze across her shoulder to further up the rail where Alex stood, beaming. Kara smiled at her sister as the older woman stared out to Maggie on shore. She must have sensed Kara’s eyes on her, and looked down briefly to share a smile with her as well; a different kind, a thankful one that whispered that she was grateful for Kara’s assurance of Maggie’s feelings. For to see the young barmaid there on the sand, waiting with a bouquet of flowers that were practically shouting how much they meant Maggie’s love when her words failed her; to see that sight in its simplest and most dream-like perfection, was to see that Maggie loved her, and to Kara she was thankful, for now she saw it as well.

Soon, ropes were being tossed ashore to tether Deo to the dock, and the collective energy of the crew began to sizzle and peak, all so ready to head to shore for their various reasons: love, a proper glass of rum, food that wasn’t stale. Yet first, they were to remain for a minute longer, so that J’onzz may recount his usual string of words. “Spend your time wisely, and tell only those that you must,” that part was new, and for an excitably good reason, “but do return when you can to continue your duties. Thank you again, my exceptional crew, and now,” a pause, a look about the deck to no one in particular, but then his eyes landed on Kara by that spot on the rail, and he smiled. “Now, you may go home to your loved ones.”

It could have been the brightness of the sun, simply the glare from the ocean or illuminate sand, but Kara could have sworn that J’onzz winked at her before turning to his cabin. It could have been the glare, just an over-tired blink with one slow eye, or – as Alex passed her and nudged her shoulder to follow with her own wink of acknowledgment – it could have been just that; a wink of acknowledgment _and_ acceptance.

She swaggered down, as she usually did, but with a scurried pace to the last steps as Alex ran away from her and vanished into the shade. She kept up her walk, seeing pirates of her crew, battered and bruised, veer off in various directions to seek solace in many a thing, passing Alex and Maggie holding each other close and crushingly in the shade, and with a smile she walked on. The hollering of returned sailors died down after a few turns down streets, slipping through an alleyway to pass some day-time wanderers, and coming to stand at the doorway that had filled her dreams so many a night. She raised her hand to knock, just as her dreams would show, and after she did so, she grinned at having not woken up. Instead, she heard shuffles of feet from the other side of it, the brief silence in pause, before the door swung open wildly and Lena’s smile was there to greet her.

“Hello,” she breathed, almost quite out-of-breath.

“I’m back,” Kara whispered, more to herself than the woman in front of her.

“I know; I watched as Deo came into port,” Lena flustered, reaching forward dramatically to grab Kara’s hand and pull her in. She continued to stumble forward, taken off guard by Lena’s informality, coming to rest her hands on the brunette’s waist as their chests bumped. She smiled at the contact, Lena biting her lip in return, and as the blonde took a breath and began to lean in, a nervous little voice interrupted them.

“She’s been watching all day,” Lucy spat, suppressing a giggle at what was playing out in front of her, and most certainly needing to stop it. “Hasn’t gotten a page of work done.”

“Oh, shush,” Lena half spat in return, half giggled as well. It was true, after all. “And I do apologise, Miss Danvers, for my severe unprofessionalism,” she continued in another vein. Although she and Lucy had developed a rather familiar working relationship, she still should keep up her appearance as a courteous and professional mayor of town as often as possible. “May I offer you a drink?”

As Lena turned, hand outstretched to her office, beginning to head off so that Kara may follow, the blonde did not care much for the professionalism and quickly reached out to pull her back. She tugged and spun Lena right into her chest, pressing her lips lightly to the other woman’s and hearing Lucy squeal at the contact before Lena ever did. In the same smooth motion, she pulled her other hand out of her pocket and slipped it and the ruby into the brunette’s, closing her slender fingers around it tightly.

Lena pulled back with a most perplexed expression on her face; delighted by the kiss but utterly bemused by what Kara had placed in her hand. Kara, in turn, stepped back just a little and smiled at Lena, seeing a barely-holding-herself-together Lucy out of the corner of her eye.

“What is this?” Lena asked, quite clearly referring to the ruby, but then she looked up, gazed up into Kara’s adoring eyes.

“J’onzz said I could go home,” and as Lena stepped forward to kiss Kara again, the blonde’s arms wrapping around her and picking her up so that they might spin around, Lucy squealed just a little bit more.

~ ~ ~ ~

Her hand shifted from Lena’s waist down to the soft cushioning of the mattress between them, needing both arms to push her weary body up so that she may move onto the other woman. She used her knee to press against Lena’s legs, moving them, parting them, and coming down to rest between as she lifted her hips up and over. Not once did she remove her lips from Lena’s neck, nuzzling in at such a way that coaxed Lena to roll under the sensation, to her back so that she may open herself to Kara even more. Tired arms moved around to support herself, but under her weight and her lips distraction, she slipped and came fumbling down on Lena’s shoulder, lips painfully leaving the pale skin they were reddening.

“Ouch,” Lena winced, twitching her shoulder just a touch under the brunt of Kara’s own bony shoulder.

“Sorry, sorry, my love,” Kara fussed, mustering more strength to push herself up. She pulled a face as she did, muscles groaning and worry rushing forth. “Where did I hurt you?” already preparing gentle lips to sooth and heal the pain.

“Kara, it’s quite alright... you are tired,” Lena reached up, sliding fingertips tenderly across Kara’s collarbones, her shoulders, up her neck and around to the base of her skull, all shroud in a soft curtain of golden hair. Slowly, she scratched and coaxed, bringing the blonde back down to her. “Come here, please,” she whispered, as if Kara was ever going to hesitate. Her fingertips weaved into the pirate’s salty hair, using the weathered dryness to grip onto and tug down ever so slightly.

“I hurt you,” Kara whimpered as she came to rest down on Lena, her entire weight sinking into the brunette tenderly.

“Just my shoulder.”

“Your beautiful shoulder,” Kara whispered, pressing a delicate peck to the freckled skin.

“Not as hurt as Jack had it one awful winter,” the other woman mused, not at all realising that Jack had never been mentioned in this part of the world. At Kara’s questioning of his name, she felt her heart flutter and a burn reach her eyes. “Jack was my first love, my only love, I feel. The only person I have ever truly, freely, trustingly loved,” she smiled warmly, before locking eyes with the shadowy woman above her. “Until you... All of my family always had me waiting for whatever their next cruel or careless move would be in the world, but Jack... he made me feel as if we could change the world together.”

Kara smiled just as warmly as Lena continued to tell her and Jack’s story, from friendship to budding romance, to realising that it was simple unwavering love, and not a romantic one. Although, as Lena spoke of how she at times truly believed that she and Jack would have still been happily married anyway, the love strong and true enough, Kara believed her. She felt a little jealous, of course, and thankful in the end for having this story shared as they shared the same space in the same bed, but she liked this Jack, and felt a strong affection for him even in this small time of knowing of his existence. Lena’s eyes were alight at the mention of him, recalling such fond memories and joyful times as they grew together, older and wiser, but then the flicker went out when she mentioned her birthday that dark year. She had breathed in the same sentence how she realised she was attracted to women and then that Jack had died.

Kara’s heart flipped so harshly in her chest, between beating with excitement, to heavy worry that her love may suddenly begin to cry in her arms. “Love,” she whispered, reaching with her hand to caress the backs of her fingers across Lena’s cheek.

“I had felt so alone in the world until I met him, and then when he passed, I...” a breath ripped from Lena’s lungs, and she felt her eyes failing her, closing from the burn of tears. One creeped out of her eye, down to where Kara’s fingertip caught it; wiped it. Her arms wrapped around Kara more soundly then, pressing their bodies and hearts closer to each other, almost threatening to break ribcages. “I am so unbelievably grateful for you, my Kara,” she began, her eyes opening to glisten and smile as she spoke of the blonde in that way, with those tender words. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Kara echoed, shifting just in the slightest, with more energy and confidence in the move than earlier, to lean forward and press her lips to Lena’s, whispering the words over and over between kisses. A moment of soft and slow, before they both fell into each other again and their kisses and movements grew faster, harder, more purposeful. The sides of Lena’s breasts were teasingly touched, Kara’s hips were gripped and rocked with intent; soon the sheets were sticking to their sweaty bodies as they moved together in rhythm, and in love.

As the pirate’s calloused fingers slipped down between Lena’s thighs, eliciting a gasp, the brunette bit down onto the curve of Kara’s neck and shoulder. The blonde moaned under the sharp sensation, grinning into the wave of dark hair that she was nuzzling into. “I am so very glad that you are home,” Lena whispered to the wet skin that she had just bitten. “I, too,” she heard in return, and suddenly, tragically she thought, her mind was asking a question that she really wanted the answer to. She tried to push it from her thoughts, not that it was worrisome in any way, but she was simply enjoying the hands on her, and so nearly in her, too much to bother the moment with conversation.

She was unsure how she knew it, for she in a sense barely knew Lena very well but Kara supposed that she knew Lena well enough to sense how she tensed her leg muscles, wrapped her arms around too eagerly, too trying-to-be-real, and her chest heaved unfairly under her. She knew that Lena’s mind had wandered, and so she slowed herself, bringing that hand back up between them both to press flat on the brunette’s chest, feeling her heart underneath. “Lena?” she asked, in a way that told the other woman that she was not moving again until whatever was ailing her was talked out.

“I thought Deo was your home?” Lena asked, and Kara smiled as she leant down to nuzzle their noses together.

“Do you want me to tell you, do you need me to?” Kara responded. “To tell you that I love you, that you are home,” because she did in fact know a little more of Lena now and could piece together that Lena would continue to think that she was alone in the world unless she was reminded often and thoroughly that she was most certainly not. Of course, Kara didn’t mind... she would love to tell Lena every minute that she was loved and wanted. With a pause between the rise and lowering of her head, Lena nodded. Kara took a breath in much the same fashion – breathe in, pause, breathe out. “Deo was my home, but then I met you, I loved you, and now you are my home. You are where my heart wanders to, even when I am busy or laughing with Alex. You are where my dreams take me to, where my eyes search for reassurance, and you are who I search for when I see land after seeing nothing but ocean for a week,” she smiled, and Lena did too. “You are the shape of the stars above me at night, and the smile of the sun come the day. You are my home, even when I am with the one, _on the one_ that has been my home for so long of my life. You are my love, and my home, and I want you to be my home for a very long time.”

“Not ‘forever’?” Lena worried.

“I am no fool in believing that everything lasts forever. I wish it did, but it doesn’t. My parents didn’t, my love for them doesn’t, because sometimes it is ended so harshly by my hate for them, but then that doesn’t last forever either,” Kara reasons with a shake of her head. “I know Alex says that she will be there for me forever, and love me forever, but there will be times when she has to choose herself over me, and so I will not be priority number one for her forever, no matter how many times she promises as she holds my hand.”

“I see. I feel much the same,” Lena muttered.

“That is not to say that I will not love you as hard and as much as I can until it runs out of me completely, because I will. I will love you for the extent that I am able. That is a logical promise.”

“It is. And I promise you that as well,” Lena returned. She smiled, nuzzling her nose with Kara’s again. “But illogically... with all the love in my body and yours, with every racing beat of my heart any time you touch me, kiss me, say my name, or even I think of you; with every ‘ever’ I can offer and imagine, I will love you for all of it. Forever.”

“And ever.”

Forever was a long time, an uncertain amount of time, and theirs lives were far from the norm and what was to be safe. But for the night, for the next week, even, they could be certain enough in their love to continue each kiss, touch, listening of heartbeats, each feel of each other’s pulses on lips, on tongues, under fingertips as they traced down bodies, touching, grabbing, bruising, biting, loving, making love; for this ever they could be sure to love each other forever.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?? Lemme hear 'em!! xo


	19. EPILOGUE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok guys. Here we go. I'm gonna try and get through this little spiel without crying, but hey, I already have tears in my eyes. I have so thoroughly enjoyed this story, from the moment of genius in getting the idea, to the 6 months of writing, and for every week of updates since. I have always looked forward so much to seeing and reading what you have all thought of it, and even to just get one comment was such a buzz. Then there were those of you who left detailed, thought-out and heartfelt comments on some of the more eventful chapters, and honestly, those words have meant the world to me (lookin' at you especially Nox!) I always thought that this story was one of the best that I've written, but to hear that you guys have liked it, even loved it, as well was really a gift. I love you all, I appreciate you all, now go! Go and enjoy the last part of this lil fic of mine. Until next time, much love xoxo

A deep breath, breathing Lena’s scent off the pillow she was sleeping on, and Kara opened her eyes just enough to see the blurry shape of Lena perched in the windowsill; a dim silhouette in the morning sunlight with a cup of tea in hand and the sheet draped around her. She smiled ever so into the pillow, as such a dark and indefinable figure, shadowed and quiet once held so much mystery to the pirate. But now the mayor was no longer surrounded by that air of mystery. Trust and kindness rendered her an open book that had simply had a shrouded cover; the pages within as honest and loyal, as sweet and obvious as Kara would ever try to be with the woman herself.

Lena’s dark hair was a mess, pulled over one side, exposing her neck and its long-faded scar to the blonde in her bed. Kara had woken to this serene and perfect image many mornings for the last few months as Port Nationale crept into its winter – which consisted differently of changed constellations and a touch less rain – and yet it still made her heart flutter and her cheeks flush every time to see it.

Lena took a breath as well, and hearing the slight rustle from her bed, she turned to smile at Kara. “Good morning, love,” she said, pivoting off the sill and stepping towards Kara. She placed the tea down by the burned-out candle on the table and flopped into bed, curling quickly under Kara’s arm that rose to wrap around her. The pirate was so effortlessly beautiful in this state; clean, quiet, flushed from a good sleep, and a good evening before that – one that warranted a good sleep, Lena made sure. She kissed the blonde’s nose and then her rosy cheek, dropping her own nose to nuzzle in at the bite mark she left on Kara’s neck in the darkness hours ago. “Sleep well?” she mumbled against the skin there, allowing her lips to tantalisingly ghost against that swollen mark.

“Mmhm,” was all that Kara seemed to manage, wrapping that arm tighter around Lena’s waist. “Did you?” she asked after a moment and Lena had returned to sharing the same pillow.

“I did. I sleep better when you are next to me.”

“And when I am not here?”

“Harder to get to sleep. Dreams of kissing you, only to wake and simply miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” Kara whispered, her soft voice enough to tickle Lena’s lips. The brunette leaned forward to close the space between them, allowing in that moment for neither of them to miss each other, only to kiss each other and be in love. “What were you thinking about?” Kara asked after the space had grown between their lips again.

“Deo praeco. Do you know what that means?” Lena asked, reaching up to tuck a rogue curl of Kara’s wild summer hair behind her ear.

“No.”

“God’s messenger.”

“Me,” Kara hummed, dragging out the vowel, and grinning into the word as her eyes closed.

“Indeed. Does your captain speak Latin, then?”

“I suppose so. He is a very worldly man.” Another lull of quiet fell between them; Kara keeping her eyes closed to rest them and simply enjoy Lena with the rest of her senses. Her lungs were full, her hands were full, as was her heart. Lena continued to gaze at her love, the woman she would spend her life with, her fingertips tracing pictures between each of Kara’s freckles along her shoulder and down her arm and back. She would pause over scars and remember those that she had tended to, each time a lump jumping to her throat as a bloodied Kara had knocked on her door upon returning from sea.

“Do you know what else you are?” she asked. “Heros meum.”

“And what does that mean, Miss Luthor?” Kara asked, her hand squeezing her insistence around the brunette’s warm hip.

After a few moments, lost temporarily in the comfort of Kara’s grasp on her body, she leaned in, pressing her lips to the shell of Kara’s ear, and answered. “My hero.” She had no time to even press a kiss and lean back, for the blonde’s entire body was pulling her closer. A tanned arm slid beneath Lena as she was rolled to her back, their bodies pressed together as one and sticking there due to the late morning heat as well as what was left on the sheets from the night before. She felt lips and needy teeth at her neck, hips rolling into hers and the warm swell of Kara’s breasts press against her chest. “My hero, my hero, my hero,” she whispered, feeling with every move of the pirate’s hands and lips, as if she were being saved a thousand times over.

~ ~ ~ ~

The day was calm, in an odd way, Kara noted as she sat cross-legged on the made bed in Lena’s room. She watched as the brunette put the last touches to her outfit for the day: a slide in her hair to reveal her flushed cheek and her unbitten neck – the other side possessed a mark, but this side, her left side... that was in a respectable state to show to the world. Kara’s neck was loved all over, she was afraid, but then again, she was not the mayor of the town, and so she could get away with it.

At last Lena opened her small little jewellery chest – a rustic wooden one that Kara had purchased for her not long after returning with indeed a jewel to keep in it – and there it sat; no longer just a glistening ruby, but the finished and fine centre of a necklace, placed at the crux of a string of pearls fit for a princess, nay, a queen.

The moments seemed to be moving so slowly about the pirate, but she did not mind. Lena’s hands slipping beneath the curtain of her hair to clasp the necklace, then her fingertips stroking down the pearls to press in on the ruby, indenting its weight to her skin momentarily. She turned with a smile; one that Kara returned proudly. Her love looked simply marvellous, and she, for a moment, was so selfishly glad to be the reason for so much of the joy in Lena’s eyes. But then again, it could hardly be selfish, for she was sure that Lena felt the very same when looking into Kara’s eyes.

Lena slipped into her shoes, hardly the pristine slippers that she wore in New York, what seemed a lifetime ago, but were instead a more suitable boot of sorts. Kara had not bought them, but had in fact accompanied Lena to purchase them up the road. No matter what pair or style Lena had tried or mused about, Kara was in full support, and she beamed warmly at the memory as the brunette outstretched her hand for her to take, leading her downstairs.

They had finished a light breakfast hours ago, and had left the plates of that meal by the bed, as well as many a crumb, but none of which Lena was too adamant about sweeping away. “I shall think of you most fondly when I pull back my covers this evening, Miss Danvers,” she had insisted amidst the blonde’s giggles. They often referred to each other in a more formal manner when by themselves, even though they obviously had no need to; it was simply for fun and to make each other laugh. Kara had left it at that then and assisted in making the bed, tucking in sheets and fluffing pillows before holding them flush to her bare chest to bury her face once more into its softness and breathing in; her lungs swimming with the scent of Lena.

The day was warm on their skins, heavy and expecting of rain, but the clouds above seemed to imply that it would not come to fruition for many hours yet. In that case, Kara was glad, for it allowed Deo plenty of time to be at sea before any storm may approach the island. That was not where they were heading at that moment, she was also glad, for she was never quite ready enough to leave Lena’s side, even if it did mean sitting up late the first night and talking for hours with her sister; her asking all questions about Alex and Maggie, and the elder Danvers doing quite the same, all shared over a warm bottle of rum.

The tavern was their destination for the next stretch of time; a lunch with the crew – a proper one including more than simply rum and days-old fruit – before they were to set sale again for a few weeks, intent to return undisturbed to Catt Island in search of any other bouts of buried treasure. They were more peaceful in the decision to return than months ago, having heard for certain that Daxam was, for the most part, resting on the bottom of the ocean. Now they may return and wander, freely and without as much fear, and for Kara to recall kinder memories of her early life.

Under the warm breeze that swept around the corner to the tavern, they stepped through the open doors and a silence seemed to befall the room. Soon enough, the chatter picked up again and Kara heard the booming voice of her captain, sitting atop a table with his boot sturdy on the chair, calling over to her. He had been facing M’Gann prior to noticing Kara, and upon his distraction, she had left, but with a sweet smile on her face. Kara mirrored it as they passed each other, and Lena split off to meet Cat at the counter. J’onzz’s arm swung open to greet Kara, pulling her in to a side hug that reminded her – as it did every day with the same welcome – that this was family.

Alex hugged her as well, remarking pseudo-snidely that she hadn’t seen Kara in days. Kara laughed under her sisters tone, but knew that she was right. Neither had seen each other for as long as neither had seen any clothes on their bodies, which was fine. They were the sisters of town that loved each other more than most, but of course, neither would pass up days on end to lay with their respective girlfriends. Maggie was behind the bar, slipping into the kitchen and returning with the basics of a good meal for the crew of Deo. Vasquez, who had since stepped aside from her and Alex’s onboard relationship of sorts, was perched at the bar as Maggie passed by her, and they shared a smile. With that smile still on her lips, Vasquez turned to Lucy beside her, pouring her another glass of rum and leaning in to kiss the taste from her lips. (When Kara had first noticed Lucy’s attraction to her fellow crewmate, she had similarly squealed with joy, if only to mirror Lucy’s actions and show her excitement for her.)

Amongst the bustling about with meals and bottles of rum and water, James slipped out of the kitchen silently as well, with a sole plate in his hand, seemingly more extravagant than any of the rest of the crew’s, but upon placing the plate down in front of the practically blushing Winn, the crew smiled and moved on from the obvious show of favouritism. Kara stared at her friend, so sweetly engrossed in the perfect arrangement of lettuce leaves, and was happy for the happiness floating through the people she loved.

As she began to eat her meal as well, the rabble to her side parted way as Lena stepped through, bringing two tall glasses filled with liquid with her. One was rum, and one was water. She pouted as the brunette placed the water in front of Kara and proceeded to take a large drink of the rum, all behind a cheeky smirk. “Oh, dear, Miss Danvers of the ship Deo,” she began, placing the rum down after half of it seemed to vanish within her, “there does not seem to be a spare seat for myself.” Upon the words, Kara looked around and not only saw two spare chairs, one of which was right beside her, but also saw a few of her crew vacate theirs, she looked back up to Lena most perplexed. “Might I instead, if it is quite alright with you,” full lips rounding out her words so tantalisingly so that Kara would have been a fool not to catch on. “Might I take a seat on your lap?”

A few of the crew could be heard to chuckle, another few begin to whisper and coo, but Kara tried her best to dismiss them all as she pivoted in her seat just enough for Lena to easily take a seat across her lap. They were perhaps among the more open couples in town with their relationship, Alex and Maggie barely daring to say out loud their feelings, let alone sit on each other’s laps in such busy and boisterous company, but Kara always reasoned that she could easily slit the throats of whomever caused trouble for her girl.

Of course, Lena knew such a threat was irrational and not at all attractive, and yet it was still attractive to her, and as she nestled into her new seat, leant down to softly peck the pirate’s cheek. Picking up the fork that Kara had placed down, she began to feed herself of the blonde’s lunch, once again warranting a pout from the woman whose lap she was sitting on. “First, you deny me of rum, and then you steal my food so that all my lips may know today is the taste of water,” Kara spat in mock distain.

Leaning down to whisper her next words into Kara’s ear, Lena swallowed her mouthful of food with another cheeky grin on her lips. “And the taste of me, I’ll have you remember,” and she could proudly feel Kara’s thighs tense under her weight. She sat back up to an upright seating position and smiled down, ever so sweetly to the quickly blushing woman biting her lips. “But you are quite correct. I suppose you had better taste something else today... something more nourishing for your stomach if not just your hunger.”

Kara could not believe her ears, nor the moan in her throat that was begging to escape, growing more strained and painful to suppress with every tease that Lena offered. At the prompting of Alex, also most certainly aware with that sort of teasing, Kara took a large swig of her water and found her throat calming, easing, no longer needing to moan. _That should do quite well,_ Lena’s eyes seemed to say, as if she was planning on walking Kara to the dock and leaving her with such pent-up frustrations for the entirety of her journey. Kara narrowed her eyes back affectionately, seeing the game that was being played, and reached around the brunette to place down her glass and grab her food instead.

Fork still in hand, Lena delicately fed the pirate her first few bites, before the clock in the corner – not unlike Cat’s god-awful clock that still resided in Lena’s office – rang out the next hour and that Deo should soon be on its way. Kara fed herself the rest of her meal, practically shovelling it into her mouth whilst Lena stifled a laugh at the scene. “I wish I could have an image of this to remember you by,” Lena mused, finding that perhaps talking would help her laughter pass.

“You hab no sketh ob me a’ awe,” Kara managed around her mouthfuls of food (for there was enough in there for two or more mouthfuls).

“No, I do not. No image, no sketch. Not anything but the Jewel of Zor-El,” she said, pressing her fingertips into the ruby at her chest once more. “I shall have to practice my drawing skills while you are away, my love, so that when you return I may commit you to memory in all manners.” Kara raised her eyebrows in question, finally swallowing her food, but refraining this time from attempting to talk. “I shall sketch you when you sleep, when you read, when you write me little poems, and then when you are away, I shall sketch images of you aboard Deo and then finally walking down the gangplank to return to me.”

“And I shall need you to sketch one of yourself, too, my dearest, for my pocket is big enough for more than just a book.” Kara smiled up into those crystalline green eyes as they smiled down into her blue, and finally the shuffling sounds of seats and boots about them broke through to realise them that they must make a move.

Upon standing to leave, allowing Lena to pass in front of her, their hands loosely clasped, Kara looked over to the bar where Cat stood smiling. She brought her own hands up to clasp in front of her, a simple bracelet falling from the bend of her wrist to sit more securely around her forearm; a bracelet of which Kara had long ago purchased for her. They smiled at each other, Cat with a wink and Kara with a nod of understanding.

A few paces down the street, rounding a corner, Kara used their linked hands to swing Lena out flamboyantly, before spinning her back in close to her chest in a slow dance. “What shall I get you from neighbouring shores, m’lady?” she asked, pushing Lena away gently so that she may pivot on her toe to face the other woman, before bowing before her.

“Oh, well, let me see, young pirate,” Lena returned, helping Kara up again and linking their arms as they edged closer towards the dock. “What possibly could I desire that is not already in my arms?”

“A hand-crafted parasol, perhaps?”

“Oh, no; I much prefer the sun on my skin,” and Kara frowned a little in amusement for Lena was still as pale as she was when arriving at Port Nationale, and very much did not enjoy the sun so harshly on her skin.

“A fob-watch, then? Monogrammed for your possession?”

“Maybe... but you see,” she began as they rounded another corner, seeing Deo in the near-distance. “I have met an awfully sweet girl who has taught me how to read the sun and the stars for the time, so then again... perhaps not.”

“And you have that ghastly clock of Cat’s,” Kara jumped in, not at all appreciating the resounding _dongs_ it sent through the silent house at night, sometimes waking her.

“True.”

“Well, then, my sweet,” because their formalities were fun for a little while, but now Kara desired to simply dote on her love. “Suggest to me what you might like?”

“As I said,” Lena whispered, pulling Kara closer, and although eyes were on them, they did not care. Although eyes were on them, they could still see the smiles that came with them. Although eyes were on them, they were too focussed with their eyes on each other. “I do not desire anything that is not already in my arms.”

“Well, I should not go at all then!” Kara exclaimed, before bringing their lips together soundly. It was one of their more sloppy kisses, with Lena laughing a little too much for it to work, but Kara did not care. She was still kissing Lena, and that was all that mattered.

Through the laughter and smiles, Lena pushed her back, just enough to stop kissing, but not enough for them to let go entirely. “Then you _should_ go, my love, for then I may crave your return,” and the way the word ‘crave’ fell out of her lips huskily, hauntingly, was such a torturous way to leave Kara. She backed away, biting her lip and not at all wanting to leave with that hum between her legs, but she knew she had to. It would be hard, and it would make her sad for those few moments after Lena was indistinguishable on the shore and they were on the horizon, but oh, how very much she would enjoy that craving.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final time.... any thoughts??? (I really didn't prepare at all for this final upload, so any and all emotional rambles will be welcome once I wipe my tears away) xoxoxoxo

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Come chat to me on here or at sapphos-throne on tumblr :D xo


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